Nebraska Student Newspaper Shut Down Over LGBTQ+ Content

Nebraska’s Northwest Public School describes itself as “an exceptional community of learners committed to continuous growth” on its website, and claims to “meet the needs of diverse learners in a safe, supportive environment.” However, in May, the school shut down its 54-year-old student newspaper, The Viking Saga, because of two articles that discussed LGBTQ+ issues.

The Viking Saga’s June edition, published May 16, featured two articles dedicated to LGBTQ+ issues in honor of Pride month: “Pride and prejudice: LGBTQIA+” detailed the origins of Pride month and the history of homophobia, and “The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill: Making students existing controversial” detailed the Florida law signed in late March that outlawed certain teachings on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The “Don’t Say Gay” article was written by transgender student Marcus Pennell; however, his byline was changed to his birth name against his wishes. Two other transgender staff members were forced to endure the same treatment of deadnaming. A month earlier, district officials reprimanded the newspaper’s staff for printing students’ preferred names and pronouns and stated that students should only use their birth names. In a statement, Pennell said, “It was the first time that the school had officially been, like, ‘We don’t really want you here.’”

The paper also included an article on the “Science of Gender” by Hiapatia Mcintosh, which explained gender terminology, body dysmorphia, and transitioning. Mcintosh wrote that “humans only get one life to live, and everyone is only trying to live life to the fullest, which includes being happy, healthy and comfortable in their skin” and explained that “being transgender does not equal being a bad human.”

Three days later, on May 19, the administration informed the paper’s staff of 15 students that it would be shut down. The reason, an employee explained in a press release, was “because the school board and superintendent are unhappy with the last issue’s editorial content.”

Mike Hiestand, a lawyer from the Student Press Law Center, said, “I think they said that if they can’t stop it, can’t control it, then they’re just going to get rid of it.”

This closure notably comes amid a time of legal attacks on LGBTQ+ communities across the country. In the first three months of 2022, 238 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were filed by state lawmakers across the country, the majority of which targeted transgender identities. By June, 16 laws persecuting the LGBTQ+ community had been passed, including new laws in Florida, Alabama, and South Dakota restricting the teaching of sexuality and gender identity.

The freedom of the press is protected by the U.S. Constitution under the First Amendment, however only 16 states have passed legislation specifically protecting student press freedoms from administrator interference and censorship.

Nebraska Press Association attorney Max Kautsch said, “the decision by the administration to eliminate the student newspaper violates students’ right to free speech, unless the school can show a legitimate educational reason for removing the option to participate in a class … that publishes award-winning material.”

On August 31, District Superintendent Jeff Edwards issued a statement about the controversy surrounding the defunct Viking Saga and claimed the media coverage, first reported by The Grand Island Independent, was “both correct and incorrect.” Edwards said that the Viking Saga was “paused” rather than terminated, and students would have opportunities in journalism through the yearbook and digital media courses. In the letter, Edwards claimed that “the allegation that our school district ‘cancelled’ our student newspaper because of one or two articles is completely false and incredibly misleading.” He did not, however, provide reasoning for why it was canceled, only that pausing the paper was “an administrative decision.”

Northwest Public School Board Vice President Zach Mader told The Independent in a separate interview that there had been discussions in recent years of “doing away with our newspaper” if the board saw “inappropriate” content. Some board members have actively voiced their disapproval of the LGBTQ+ content in the last edition of The Viking Saga, with Dan Leiser, the board president, saying “most people were upset” by it.

Sara Rips, an attorney for the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called the decision an “attempt to censor students and discriminate based on disagreement with perspectives and articles that were featured in the student newspaper.”

In his article about the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Pennell wrote that “a bill isn’t going to prevent children from being gay, but instead leave children who happen to be gay with psychological damage that lasts a lifetime” and said that “most LGBT+ students are scared to even show up to class most days.” In an interview with The New York Times about the decision to shut down the paper, he wished that “the paper could come back,” but recognized the decision was “out of our hands.” Pennell said, “I felt so defeated.”