School boards media strategy undermines its own student journalists (Guest Opinion by Angelina Grevi) [Video]

Angelina Grevi, of Syracuse, is this year’s salutatorian for The Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central (ITC). She was a member of the Syracuse Journalism Lab,which aims to inspire talented high school students from Syracuse’s underrepresented communities to pursue journalism careers. She will attend Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in the fall to study broadcast journalism.

This past October, I was awarded the Sherri Taylor First Amendment Award by the Empire State Student Press Association for exercising my First Amendment right as a young journalist. Just two months ago, the school board that congratulated me for that award is taking that right away from the professionals in my desired career field.

For context, the Syracuse City School District Board of Education attempted to shield itself from interactions with the media this past March. Its action against the media, including instructing its lawyer to send a letter to a Syracuse TV station threatening legal action, …