California high school pulls plug on student newspaper

By The Associated Press

09.25.02

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NOVATO, Calif. — The Buzz, Novato High School's student newspaper, has lost its sting.

The paper has folded.

"What happened is, simply put, there wasn't enough student interest in the journalism program," spokeswoman Dianne Pavia said. "We had less than 10 students sign up for the class.

"When I saw there were too few students for the class I thought, 'Oh no,'" she said. "It could be perceived incorrectly, but we have to go with what the students' interest is."

The Buzz stirred up a hornet's nest last fall when it published an inflammatory article about illegal immigrants written by a student.

The article by senior Andrew Smith spurred a protest by 150 Novato High students and parents. School officials responded by confiscating copies of the newspaper and writing a letter of apology to parents and students.

Delays in publishing a second essay, "Reverse Racism," prompted Smith and his father to file a lawsuit last spring in Marin Superior Court seeking an injunction to force publication. The essay was published May 14, but the lawsuit is still pending, district officials told the Marin Independent Journal for a Sept. 23 story.

The Marin newspaper also reported that school officials, who said the instructor teaching the class resigned last spring, denied that The Buzz's demise was related to the controversy.

The paper had its triumphs. Seniors Ruth Osorio and Stella Robertson, co-editors of The Buzz, were honored last school year with a James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for their fight to get the paper to press.

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