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Stirring the Terra Nova soup pot
In the interests of full disclosure, I should tell you I really like David
Kazakoff, the Principal of Terra Nova High School. He's a charming, verbal,
knowledgable guy. He spoke to Rotary earlier this year. Rotarians liked him
so much he was immediately invited back to speak a second time, which he
did in October. When I speak to some of my own kids, TN graduates from
previous decades, I'm told what a good teacher he was.
But Mr. Kazakoff may not like my column this week. Because Mr. Nice Guy has
made a serious mistake, in my opinion. Some students at Terra Nova
committed journalism, and their penalty was that sometime last Spring 1500
copies of "The Roar", the student newspaper, were reportedly shredded.
Unfortunately I don't know what article in the student paper provoked this
display of pique. I may never know.
I was given a few copies of an underground TN newspaper currently being
published, appropriately called "The Subterranean." It has some articles
which may explain the response of Terra Nova's administration to "The Roar"
in question. One particular feature was sophomoric, to say the least. It
was full of the kind of words responsible journalists never used to use in
print. I've heard them before. I spent almost three years in the army, and
I didn't like them then either. Unfortunately, as the popular culture
degrades, words like that are appearing in publications as well-edited as
"The New Yorker."
On the other hand, what are the odds the delicate ears and eyes of today's
high school students will be seriously offended by the words that caused me
so much distress while I was in the service? Even the most sheltered
flowers among our teens seem to be willing and able to take on the storms
and winds that blow from certain popular "entertainers."
Of course, since the relevant issue of "The Roar" was shredded, for all I
know it may have been an article critical of the TN administration. How
ironic, if the writer was criticizing censorship by school authorities.
Of course, the offensive article may have actually been an all-out attack
on the First Amendment by a student who dislikes the Constitution
intensely. That would certainly justify shredding. We can't have Pacifica
high school kids expressing that kind of opinion in public, can we?
By suppressing the ideas expressed in the particular newspaper in question,
the TN administration merely put off the problem. I'm the last person to
qualify as an investigative journalist, and here I am telling you things TN
powers-that-be would evidently prefer be kept quiet. Keeping lids on while
pots boil often doesn't work. Curious taxpayers, those of us who actually
pay for the schools, may get nosy when we hear reports of shredding 1500
copies of the school newspaper. Recycling is supposed to happen only after
newspapers have been read, not before. For one thing, it's wasteful.
As a longtime newspaper ad salesman, I'm also curious if the student
newspaper carries paid ads. Were those advertisers billed for ads that were
shredded? Readership is what sells advertisers. I don't read the Roar much,
so I don't know if there are ads involved. But if there are, and I was one
such advertiser, I would be furious that my ad was deprived of its
readership base. Even if I was not actually billed, I would have been
promised the opportunity to reach my target audience. I would have made
business plans based on the hoped-for student and teacher response. Have I
stirred the Tiger soup enough? For more details, you may want to call
Terra Nova High.
Paul@thereactor.netis the Reactor's e mail address.
Check his website at www.thereactor.net.
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