Parents Enraged About "Sex" Edition of High School Newspaper

The latest issue of the Winnachronicle, the student news paper at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, NH, did more than talk about pep rallies and class projects. This edition contained far more titillating articles—including an interview with a custodian who had found a pink 3-speed vibrator in the girls’ shower, a true-false quiz about anal sex, and an article titled "Why men love women who love women," accompanied by a photograph of two women kissing.

Needless to say, parents were shocked and angry. Venus Merrill, a school board member, voiced concerns felt by many parents. "Those articles offended me personally as a parent," she said. "It’s not something you want to read with your 10-year old and it’s not something that should be going home."

Randy Zito, principal of the school, had no idea about the contents of the paper before it was distributed. Administrators at the school do not review the newspaper before its publication. Zito told reporters that the Winnachronicle has crossed the line of responsible reporting and that he was handling the problem internally. The newspaper is usually sent to middle schools in the cooperative school district, but Zito said he had pulled those copies to prevent them being distributed.

The editor-in-chief of the Winnachronicle, student Katie McCay said that the purpose of the paper was to educate students. According to a 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey at the high school, nearly half of the students are having sexual intercourse. McCay said that she and managing editor Lisa McManus got the idea for the special edition after seeing a high school newspaper from Iowa City, Iowa, that ran 12 pages on the subject of sex.

The editors, both seniors who have been on the newspaper staff for three years, said that they intended to provoke a reaction with the sex edition, which they said was intended to inform and enlighten. They told reporters that the Winnachronicle staff received a lot of feedback about the issue, especially the lesbian article with the accompanying picture. "We thought it was an important topic to address," McCay said. "Being in a high school, it's something I've seen and something other kids have seen in the hallways."

McCay said that the true or false questionnaire was of particular interest to students. "As we put the pages on the table, the staff said, 'Oh my goodness, that's false? I had no idea,'" McCay said. "This is definitely stuff kids didn't know about."

McManus wrote an editorial in the issue saying the students were aware that they were dealing with a taboo subject. "These stories have been edited and re-edited for content and delivery, keeping in mind that the job here is to inform, not shock," the editorial said. "It's about sex. Deal with it. ...Better than dealing with it, let’s talk about it." McManus defended their decision to publish the paper without concern about how parents would react. "It is something parents hope their children remain ignorant about until after marriage. It is something faculty members and administrators hope not to deal with, but something that almost all students have experienced or been exposed to."

The faculty adviser for the newspaper staff defended the editors’ decisions, saying that she knew the issue would cause a controversy, but thought it would be informative. "The kids wrote the articles and came up with the topic," said adviser Carol Downer. "They didn't go out to cause controversy, but the Winnachronicle is also not a P.R. piece for the high school. This is a place for students to express their view and talk about issues that are troubling the student body. Let our kids voice these things…realize they have something to say. It’s about kids, it’s not about adults," she said.

Parent Paula Wood, of Seabrook, said that she wants the issue to be discussed in a public meeting of the school board, but Zito said it would be discussed in a closed session since it might involve personnel issues. "I don’t want to discuss personnel, I want to discuss the paper" said Wood. "I thought it was a vile, disgusting piece of pornography I wouldn't want to be in front of children, let alone paid for by taxpayers."