The principal of Flushing HS is giving these student journalists a lesson in censorship.
Tyee Chin has refused to publish the third issue of the fledgling Flushing Advocate, calling everything in it and a prior issue “negative and disparaging.”
“I will not approve this edition,” Chin declared in an e-mail.
Chin cited a feature that infuriated him: “What Makes a Good Teacher?” which quotes multiple students.
One sophomore commented, “Good teachers help you struggle less and help you get motivated, but to be honest, Flushing High School lacks in those kinds of teachers. Out of my 8 classes, only 3 of my teachers really care.”
Chin was also displeased by the placement of his “Principal’s Corner — a note from Mr. Chin” on Page 4 in the last issue, a student said. “He’s like ‘Give me the front cover’ . . . He got really angry about that.”
Chin’s dictate stunned and angered the students who toiled for weeks on the spring edition. They launched a petition last week, collecting 500 signatures so far, “to bring back our journalistic freedom.”
The edition banned by Chin features a glowing front-page story on 16 Flushing kids who attended a conference of Health Occupation Students of America and “proudly took home nine medals!” The front page also includes a “Vocabulary Corner” with 14 words and definitions.
Among 11 other pieces, Julie Chavez wrote about diabetes, telling how one senior avoided the disease by losing weight and exercising.
Senior Sharon Cheung, the school’s salutatorian, wrote “The Benefits of Advanced Placement,” urging peers to take the challenging courses.
“He has no good reason to ban it,” Cheung told The Post. “Most of the articles are positive. They show the school’s accomplishments.”
Junior Ainara Hidalgo agreed. She wrote how a robotics class can open doors for students, especially girls. “I don’t think that’s negative,” she said.
Junior Paloma Mendez, who wrote the article that offended Chin, said a student newspaper can help improve Flushing High, which is in Mayor de Blasio’s Renewal Program for low-performing schools.
“It teaches you how to be a better writer, how to communicate with people,” she said.
Chris Marzian, the English teacher who serves as the newspaper’s adviser, defended the young journalists: “A student’s First Amendment right shouldn’t end when they walk into a school,” he said.
In an e-mail to The Post, Chin said, “I’m not refusing to print it. I’m scheduling a meeting to discuss the tone of the paper with the teacher.”
He said the teacher “has refused to follow… expectations.” Chin also insisted he has a “legal right to senor (sic) the content” of a student newspaper.