Students take on tough issues

In March of 2005, Central High School's Tiger newspaper staff decided to take on teen pregnancy.

The student-run paper published stories about the rising pregnancy rates in high schools, abortion, adoption and pregnant teenagers at Central.

One of those teens in particular stood out.

Jesse Lairson, then news editor, gave birth to her son in February of 2005. She wrote a personal essay about being pregnant at 17, an essay that, by far, stirred up the most controversy.

The Tiger landed in the hotseat among readers, a place that has become familiar to student reporting staffs as high school newspapers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson strive to be cutting edge and attract readers.

For most high school students, the school newspaper is something to casually glance at and then throw away. They read the jokes, see if they're in any of the pictures, see if anyone they know is featured in a story, then toss it away.

A closer look reveals topics that the rest of the town is talking about.

"I like to think of my staff as writers of compelling rather than controversial stories," says Kara Cracraft, advisor for Jackson High School's Silver Arrow. "We try to cover issues around school that are timely and meaningful to the student body."

At Central, that included not just the teen pregnancy issue, but also stories about the contract situation of former superintendent Mark Bowles, budget cutbacks and special education teachers' difficulties transporting students to field trips.

Central Tiger staff members don't mind if their articles are controversial, and neither does their advisor.

"My role is that of a coach," said Miki Markovich, advisor of the Tiger and CHS yearbook since 2004. "The staff members choose stories they find important, including topics which impact our community and the world."

Why choose such controversial topics in the first place?

"It's just what we do," said Lairson, a senior and this year's editor in chief.

For each edition of the newspaper, the same creative process takes place.

First, the staff holds a production meeting. They brainstorm ideas and divide all the ideas into the categories in which they fit, such as in the news or sports sections.

Then they decide the appropriateness of each story, making sure it is timely and relevant to the students.

"We provide the facts and try to hit all the angles of our controversial topics," said Laura Burdick, sports page editor of the Tiger. "When we choose our feature story, we do not try to think of an idea that people would get the greatest kick out of. We choose a topic that we believe would give beneficial knowledge to our student body."

After a story is edited by the editors, Dr. Mike Cowan, Central principal, goes over the final draft of the stories to make sure nothing is too offensive to be printed in a high school publication.

"First and foremost, my intent is always to endorse what our students in consultation with Mrs. Markovich chose to write, unless I have a compelling reason not to do so," said Cowan.

Compelling reasons, said Cowan, include attacks on an individual or group as well as any piece that would be in opposition to the school's "values of dignity, integrity and justice."

Still, not all readers agree about what's fit to print. The pregnancy series in particular generated a lot of feedback, not always positive, for the school, Cowan, and for the Tiger staff.

"Because teen pregnancy is always a controversial subject, and couple that with frank discussions about birth control, people get offended," said Markovich.

They received phone calls, letters, and emails. Disgruntled readers complained in the Southeast Missourian's Speak Out section and wrote letters to the editor.

It's the sort of criticism the high school writers and editors expect though, if they're doing their jobs right.

"It's definitely necessary to push the envelope in high school journalism," says senior Hannah Stepenoff, opinion page editor of the Tiger. "We are trying to produce a product that not only informs our peers, but also affects them. I know, in my case, I prefer to write an intellectually stimulating story rather than a safe one."

Emily Hendricks is a Central High School graduate and student at Southeast Missouri State University.