Title
Recognizing and honoring the members of the Neshaminy High School Playwickian Editorial Board and their student advisor Tara Huber for taking a stand against racism and bigotry by refusing to continue to publish the traditional nickname for the Neshaminy High School athletic teams, a derogatory term for Native Americans.
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WHEREAS, In the October 2013 issue of the Neshaminy High School Playwickian, the Editorial Board by a vote of 14-7 decided to cease printing the word "Redskin", the traditional nickname for their sports team. In an editorial for that edition, the Board said, "The word 'Redskin' is racist and very much so...It is not a term of honor, but a term of hate"; and
WHEREAS, After the editorial was published, both the Neshaminy High School Principal, and the Neshaminy School Board moved to stop the editors from editing out the use of the word, arguing that they didn't have the power to censor speech of other students. The editors have argued that if the word were offensive to other minority groups, they would have the power to edit that language; and
WHEREAS, In June 2013, the Neshaminy School Board voted to strip some power from Playwickian editors, and instead pass it along to school administrators to determine what should be published, arguably in violation of Section 12.9 of the Pennsylvania Administrative Code: Students Rights and Responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, Just this month, the Playwickian's Editor-in-Chief, Gillian McGoldrick, was suspended from her editor's position by the school administration for one month for again refusing to publish the offensive word; and
WHEREAS, Also, the paper's faculty advisor, Tara Huber, was suspended without pay by the district Superintendent Robert Copeland for failing to stop the students from going through with their ban. Huber has been honored by the National Liberty Museum here in Philadelphia, and was named Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania School Press Association. Huber wa...
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