Our December issue goes to the printer today. We will sell it next Wednesday, 12/12.
You have a major assignment due on Wed., 12/12, while we wait for newspapers to come in. This assignment will count 200 points, a test grade. Consider the following email from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association:
- In the wake of several censorship and prior review cases, there’s been a lot of
buzz around the state lately about student press rights.
- This is an opportune time to incorporate First Amendment lessons into your
journalism class – be it focused on newspaper, yearbooks, broadcasting or
creative writing. After all, the ONLY profession specifically protected in the
Constitution is journalism. The First Amendment states …
- “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, OR OF
THE PRESS; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.”
- High school journalists need to recognize this awesome protection given the
press by our founding fathers, and also learn how to handle it responsibly.
- I strongly encourage you to encourage your students to enter the First
Amendment Essay Contest. In the past, some teachers have assigned their
students to write essays and have entered them into the competition.
- Thanks to a generous grant from the Cox Institute for Newspaper Management,
this is one of the few contests GSPA offers that has a cash prize — for the
student AND the staff:
- 1st place: $100 for student, $100 for staff
2nd place: $75 for student, $75 for staff
3rd place: $50 for student, $50 for staff
- In addition, the winning writer will receive a plaque at the GSPA Awards
Ceremony, will have their essay published on the GSPA web site, and the top
three finishers will be promoted through a UGA press release.
- Please see more details on www.gspa.uga.edu or in the latest issue of The
Bulletin. You can also see the winning essays from the past three years.
- Please note the postmark deadline for the contest is Dec. 14 …
Research the topic of First Amendment rights and write an essay to be entered in the contest. Read past essays and go to the GSPA website for more information. Your grade for this essay is out of 200 points, but also important is that you can win up to $100 for yourself AND our newspaper. I know we have awesome writers on staff!
Obviously, this is a strict deadline. Essays turned in after the 12/12 deadline but before 4th period on Thursday, 12/13 will be considered late. They will get a late grade. No essays will be accepted after 12/13. I must send them to the contest and get them postmarked by 12/14.
