posted by Mike Madison at 7:38 PM /
I heard twice today from Blog-Lebo readers wondering whether I have seen a story in the current issue of The Devil's Advocate, the student newspaper at Mt. Lebanon High School, regarding the financial disclosure forms filed or not filed by the current president of the School Board. The disclosure question was aired earlier on this blog. Here's the link.
The answer is -- no, I haven't seen the story, and so far as I know, the newspaper isn't online. If this is something in the student paper that the community should see and read, then shoot a copy my way.
Updated (still 2/26): I've now read the story, and I'm impressed by its thoroughness. It's a very nice piece of work by one of Lebo's student journalists, Sarah Mervosh. If you're interested in the topic, I recommend that you track down a copy of the paper.
Updated (now 2/27): I've learned that The Devil's Advocate also published an editorial that condemns the actions of the School Board president, in detail and by name. The editorial was signed by all nine members of the editorial board. In a community that has occasionally argued on this blog that only anonymity protects the right to express strong opinions about local issues, those students have spoken eloquently on their own behalf. I was a student newspaper editor myself, so I know from personal experience that 17-year-olds are capable of publishing a lot of righteous rubbish. I express no opinion on the merits of the editorial. But I do want to publicly commend the students for their courage in putting their names by their positions. Well done.
Update (2/28): The Post-Gazette has picked up the story.
Update (2/29): I've rejected several comments from readers who did not post their own names or provide a way for all readers to identify them. Follow the example set by the Devil's Advocate student editors (and follow the blog's policy, posted on the right column), and sign your name. For anyone wondering about the "righteous rubbish" comment above, I myself published the righteous rubbish -- 30 years ago, as a student journalist and editorial writer. The current DA editorial might be rubbish, or it might be Pulitzer-quality. The news article is quality work. I express no opinion on the merits of the editorial.
The answer is -- no, I haven't seen the story, and so far as I know, the newspaper isn't online. If this is something in the student paper that the community should see and read, then shoot a copy my way.
Updated (still 2/26): I've now read the story, and I'm impressed by its thoroughness. It's a very nice piece of work by one of Lebo's student journalists, Sarah Mervosh. If you're interested in the topic, I recommend that you track down a copy of the paper.
Updated (now 2/27): I've learned that The Devil's Advocate also published an editorial that condemns the actions of the School Board president, in detail and by name. The editorial was signed by all nine members of the editorial board. In a community that has occasionally argued on this blog that only anonymity protects the right to express strong opinions about local issues, those students have spoken eloquently on their own behalf. I was a student newspaper editor myself, so I know from personal experience that 17-year-olds are capable of publishing a lot of righteous rubbish. I express no opinion on the merits of the editorial. But I do want to publicly commend the students for their courage in putting their names by their positions. Well done.
Update (2/28): The Post-Gazette has picked up the story.
Update (2/29): I've rejected several comments from readers who did not post their own names or provide a way for all readers to identify them. Follow the example set by the Devil's Advocate student editors (and follow the blog's policy, posted on the right column), and sign your name. For anyone wondering about the "righteous rubbish" comment above, I myself published the righteous rubbish -- 30 years ago, as a student journalist and editorial writer. The current DA editorial might be rubbish, or it might be Pulitzer-quality. The news article is quality work. I express no opinion on the merits of the editorial.
Labels: mt lebanon school district, school board
12 Comments:
Does anyone know why the school newspaper isn't available online?
gina niewodowski
They do have a website, but it doesn't seem to be active.
http://mtlda.org/
Going to the above website, you can either "Login" or "Register." This might be only for students, but it is probably open to parents as well.
Registered, logged on and still no content.
Having now read the article and related editorial and being a HUGE fan of the free press and free speech, I have to respect the undertaking and their right to get some things wrong; it is all part of the process. Further, it is far better than bottling up issues and storing them on a shelf.
On reflection though, I seriously question the wisdom of the publication - another part of the process.
Just a small correction; the article in the PG is not about the Devil's Advocate article. It apparently focuses on other information not filed for the elections board, not the financial disclosure forms the school newspaper questions.
Mr. Matthews, what do you think the paper got "wrong."?
Disclaimer here: our son is the news editor of the DA and a staff writer...He is also on the editorial board and the entire board signed the editorial. We're proud of all of them.
The staff and their teacher would love to have the paper online and it should be online. The district just has never made that happen and I have no idea why.
Linda Wilson Fuoco
Frankly, without access to the high school newspaper, its virtually impossible for the vast majority of us to develop an opinion about the article or the editorial. Kind of unfair, really.
I completely agree with Dave Franklin. This publication should be available to the entire community. Why is it not readily available on the MLSD website?
Hi everybody. I'm the school newspaper sponsor and a Lebo resident. Our goal is to begin posting stoies online this year. The principal and I agreed in the fall that posting to the district web site would not be wise because the district's online policy gives administrators full editorial control. In addition, it would be a learning experience for the web site to be student designed and operated. Last Thursday, the web site designer came to my class to finally show us all how to post stories -- only to discover the site had been blocked. The network administrator who typically unblocks sites told me I need the principal's permission to unblock this one. The principal then told me that he needed to meet with me before it could be unblocked. We are meeting next week. Due to this glitch, I cannot give you an estimated date in which material will be available online. The newspaper has been distributed to several coffee shops uptown.
In addition, I'm curious to learn what my students got wrong. The writer, Sarah Mervosh, meticulously researched the story for many weeks and believes she got everything right. We use mistakes as opportunities to learn, so please be specific.
Casey Henry, just curious about one thing. I do not remember seeing copies of the paper in the local coffee shops in the past. Is this a new distribution policy? And why now?
The kids started distributing around town a couple issues ago. (It certainly had nothing to do with this controversial story.) I suppose the main motivation was to try to increase visibility among business owners in an attempt to attract advertising, which the newspaper desperately needs this year. The district only funds about a quarter of the newspaper's annual budget. This is fine, but some years are leaner than others!
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