One High School's Insane Quest to Make Students Print 'Redskins'

On the morning of June 13, Neshaminy High School Principal Robert McGee scooted around campus confiscating copies of the school paper, the Playwickian, before they could get into his students' hands. The effort was futile. He claimed he only collected about 40 copies out of 5,000. It was the slapstick culmination of a months-long battle between McGee and the editors of the Playwickian over the paper's decision to stop printing the name of Neshaminy's sports teams: the Redskins.

The plight of the student editors, who've been subjected to a legal and administrative battle that's cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars with a goal of forcing the paper to print a school mascot name understood to be racist by both media outlets and the FCC alike, has captured national attention. NPR, the Washington Post, Keith Olbermann, Think Progress, and numerous other outlets have reported on the proceedings.

The response from school board and administrators alike has been opaque—no comment; not to press, not to parents, not to students, their lawyer, or even to the paper's advisor. Then, last week, Neshaminy school board member Stephen Pirritano broke his silence in an email to VICE Sports. What he wrote indicates a thorough, coordinated effort to bully the student paper into using the word "Redskins."

On September 10, 2013, a Neshaminy High School parent, Donna Boyle, filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission (PHRC) over the team's mascot name. More than a year later, the complaint has yet to be resolved.

But the complaint did spur conversation among editors of the Playwickian. Through the years, the use of "Redskins" as the school's mascot has provoked editorial back-and-forth in the newspaper's pages. Back in 2001, the paper considered banning the word from its pages. Boyle's complaint sparked a fresh discussion.

"One of the editors brought it up," Playwickian co-editor-in-chief Gillian McGoldrick said in telephone interview last week. "So we decided to do our own research. I, personally, didn't see anything wrong with it at first. It's tradition, whatever. Then, when I had conversation with the other editors, my view completely changed. I did my own research and my view completely changed! I can't even believe I ever thought something like that, that it was okay. And that happened for a bunch of the other editors, also."

The process was different for Reed Hennessy, McGoldrick's co-editor-in-chief.

"I grew up in a very unique household," Hennessy said as he sat in the stands at Neshaminy's football game last Thursday night against CB South. "I had my opinion formed on the word 'Redskins' by the time I was in fifth grade."

Hennessy always speaks with purpose. Another student at the game asked him if he'd be celebrating senior cut day. His response: "My parents don't pay taxes so I can skip school."

McGoldrick and Hennessy, together with the 19 other newspaper editors, took a vote on whether to ban the word "Redskins" from the publication's pages. The ayes had it, 14-7. In a move befitting a newspaper encouraging full and open dialogue, the Playwickian published an editorial explaining their decision in the October issue:

"Even the most basic dictionary definition of the term describes it as 'offensive,' 'derogatory,' or 'pejorative.' The Playwickian cannot publish it for these reasons. The change is not being encouraged for the sake of political correctness itself, but for the sake of being respectful and fair to an entire race. If racist institutions had remained in other areas of society simply because they were time-honored traditions America would be a vastly different place."

In an effort to fully embrace the debate, the editors also published a dissenting opinion from one of those who voted against the policy change. Eishna Ranganathan wrote, on the same page:

"It is undeniable that in the past "redskin" has been used in a pejorative sense, but Neshaminy illustrates a genuine example of how, in present day, the attached defamation has disintegrated and is replaced with a high prestige, trumping the past. The shame in changing it exceeds the non-existent shame in keeping it."

The decision made by the editors of the Playwickian, it should be noted, predates such efforts by the New York Daily News, among other professional publications, regarding the Washington NFL team. This was a group of high school students taking the lead on an issue. The editorial announcing the decision took first prize in a competition for the Pennsylvania State Press Association. The dissenting editorial took first prize in a competition for the Columbia Student Press Association.

At no point did the students running the Playwickian demand that the school take any action at all. They simply concluded that a clearly racist term had no place in their own student publication. That paper with the editorials was approved by Principal Robert McGee and published October 23, 2013.

"I didn't know there would be pushback," Hennessy said. "I was surprised when McGee sent the email to [Faculty Advisor Tara] Huber saying we didn't have the right to make that kind of policy."

Five days later, Principal McGee emailed newspaper advisor Tara Huber to say that the new policy, announced in the paper and approved by McGee just days earlier, was now "on hold":

"Just so we are clear, . . . individual students . . . may also choose to use "Redskins" and/or "Skins" in their articles/ads. The words may not be edited out of the articles or ads nor should such articles/ads be excluded from publication solely because of the use of the words Redskins or Skins until such a time that NHS Administration has deemed the Playwickian's new policy is in accordance with the individual rights of all students, Federal and PA law and District policy."

Shortly thereafter, an advertisement was submitted to the paper by an alumni that featured both the words "Redskins" and "Skins."

McGoldrick, who'd just been named co-editor-in-chief, took the opportunity to meet Principal McGee. "I introduced myself," McGoldrick said, laughing. "I said 'Hi, I'm Gillian, and do we have to print this ad?' And he was like 'Yes, you do, exactly how it was sent.'"

Ultimately, the alum withdrew the ad, but insisted the school newspaper keep the $300 the ad cost. Rather than keep the money, the paper donated it to the girls' soccer team; another reminder to everyone that they had sufficient school spirit, they just preferred not to use a racist term.

A comical series of efforts from the school board followed, attempting to craft, with the assistance of their counsel hired for this purpose, the precise policy to force the paper into using the term "Redskins" without inviting a lawsuit.

The district ultimately went through several drafts as part of this effort, while the board frequently used its meetings as a way of criticizing the students on the public record. At one board meeting, member Stephen Pirritano wondered aloud what the newspaper would do if a student submitted a letter to the editor containing the word "Redskins."

A few days later, the Playwickian received a letter from Pirritano's son, also named Stephen, a senior at the high school. The letter was an explicit challenge to the newspaper's ban on the word and a challenge to the Playwickian to print it in this circumstance:

"This brings up the poorly thought out attempt, made by a small group of students, to censor members of the student body. If any of my fellow students truly believe they can censor my speech then I will have no choice but to strongly oppose their support of this Stalinesque policy. No one person owns the district-run newspaper 'The Playwickian'. In fact, every member of the Neshaminy community who contributes their tax dollars to the district has an equal claim to ownership of 'The Playwickian'. Therefore, no student has the right to censor another; in our paper, every student has an equal right to expression allowed under the First Amendment."

In an effort to find common ground, the editors wished to publish the letter intact—being called Stalinesque and all—while adhering to their new policy by printing "Redskins" as "R*******". No one could possibly misunderstand what the letter said, and just as a letter containing language considered obscene—consult George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can't Say On Television" for details—the clear meaning would remain.

However, that was not enough for Principal McGee. He informed Faculty Advisor Huber that the letter had to be published with the word "Redskins" spelled out. Huber then related this in a meeting with the Playwickian's editors. The editors chose a different tact: they replaced the letter with a white space, along with a brief note explaining why they chose not to publish the letter at all, given their options. No part of the newspaper contained any content rejected by McGee.

The June issue of the paper went to print with the white space standing in for the letter, and without the word "Redskins" appearing anywhere. And this was when McGee decided to run around campus in his Quixotic attempt to collect all of the copies. This was also when the elder Pirritano made up his mind that the editors of the Playwickian should be prosecuted for their refusal to print his son's letter.

"This in my opinion also reaches the level of a conspiracy, in any other context except a school environment it would be considered such," Pirritano said in an email. "I see this as no different than if these students went into another students [sic] locker and stole their phone or any valuable. Theft is theft no matter how you look at it, and they admit conspiring to do such. My statement reflects that view and in my opinion a police investigation should have taken place. It also reflects my personal philosophy that taxpayers should not be on the hook for such acts and I made that known to the public that attended our meetings as well as received comments from the public that they supported such investigation."

He's arguing that the paper's use of school funds is a misappropriation of tax dollars. One problem though: the final issue of the school year, historically, has been paid for by the students themselves. June 2014 was no different.

On July 2, Gayle Spoul, an attorney hired to represent the Playwickian's editors, wrote to Michael Levin, an attorney retained by the school district to sort out this issue: "It is inconceivable to me that the District would decide to expend time and 'funds' to 'investigate' and then potentially prosecute these students, who are simply attempting to stand up for the rights guaranteed them by the Constitution and Pennsylvania law."

The district did not opt to prosecute. Instead, McGoldrick was suspended from her duties as editor-in-chief for a month. Faculty Advisor Huber was suspended for two days without pay.

As for the elder Pirritano, when reached for comment via email, he provided the following: "But in this experience I am sure there is many concepts that may shape there [sic] thinking as they move forward in life, from civics, to personal fortitude, to expectations in private industry to the roles and many fascists that are required in operating a public school system."

Both McGoldrick and Huber are back from their suspensions now, and dealing with what is known as Policy 600, the district's effort to force the word "Redskins" back into the paper. There have been other, more punitive moves. The school district has banned the students from direct operation of the paper's Twitter account. Huber and the students cannot communicate with one another on the pages of the paper's online articles, keeping the technology from serving as a teaching tool. The policy also calls for a ten day review period from the principal before anything can be published, be it print or online.

In other words, weekly coverage of the Neshaminy High School football team is no longer possible, which is ironic considering that the policy was enacted to force the editors of the school paper to "honor" the school's athletic mascot tradition.

Sproul, like her clients, has made every effort to avoid conflict. She's repeatedly urged the district not to adopt a policy that seems, inevitably, will lead to a court fight. Principal McGee has often been asked for advice on how to implement Policy 600 this fall. Each time, he replied: "I don't know."

Here is something the Playwickian does know, after filing a Right To Know request per Pennsylvania state law, the school district has spent upwards of $17,000 on its attorney in this case, Michael Levin. (The total is almost certainly much more than this—$17,000 was the total as of last year.)

When asked about this, Superintendent Robert Copeland provided an extended statement he'd made about the issue at a board meeting last spring, which expressed support for, among other things, the new school board policy, and even Principal McGee's attempt to confiscate copies of the student paper.

"What some would call an overreaction, I would call prudence," Copeland said at the time of McGee's newspaper confiscation spree.

Accordingly, the students are weighing their options, and attempting to submit the school paper absent any guidance on an utterly opaque policy that their own attorney has pointed out runs afoul of virtually any legal standard you can name.

"There'll be many issues, just with this first issue coming out," Hennessy said. "We're gonna test the policy, while maintaining the level of professionalism we've maintained up to this point, and taking the advice of our legal counsel."

Huber declined to comment on the record for this piece. She's now the president of the teachers' union in a district that recently saw its teachers strike twice in five years, and has negotiations for a new contract coming up in January.

If the intent of the school board was to teach these kids not to take a stand, their actions have had the opposite effect. The vote was 14-7 back in September 2013 to ban the word "Redskins" from the Playwickian, but the editorial board is unanimous in condemning the actions of the school board to try and take away their right to make that decision.

Nor are Hennessy or the others willing to walk away from this fight. They've been offered server space from another school if they wish to publish their paper online, and an Indiegogo campaign nearly tripled its $2,400 goal. But Hennessy and McGoldrick are thinking beyond their own tenures as editors-in-chief.

"Let's say, in three years, this is still going on," Hennessy said. "Mrs. Huber's no longer at the school, and an advisor willing to work with the school board is on the paper as the advisor. The policy's still in place. I mean, if there was no school paper, the school board would be happy, or at least indifferent."

The implications of walking away are simple: it means the Playwickian, after 82 years, would no longer belong to the students. It won't happen on Hennessy and McGoldrick's watch.

Huber may or may not remain, but McGoldrick and Hennessy are moving on, for sure. The University of Georgia's political science program appeals to Hennessy, who wants to find a warmer climate to pursue his many interests. McGoldrick, too, has big plans.

"Any school with an awesome communications program," McGoldrick said of her likely destination next year. When I asked whether this had made her more determined to go into the field of journalism, she replied, "Yes. Without a doubt. If anything, it's opened up more stuff for me—now I understand the legal side of things, so maybe I'd want to go into first amendment law. It's really been an amazing learning experience."

Principal McGee ignored my previous attempts to contact him and still hasn't responded to a single media request for comment; all while repeatedly brushing aside questions from both the school newspaper's editors and their advisor Huber.

But throughout the first half of Neshaminy's Thursday night game against CB South, McGee saw me speaking with multiple editors of the school paper. He stared us down while moving close enough to eavesdrop on our conversations.

I identified myself and McGee immediately responded, "I'm sorry, I'm not making any comment." He immediately insisted I leave the sideline. I pointed out I had a sideline pass. He smirked, replying, "I give out the sideline passes."

Eventually, a security guard stepped in and said, "I don't think he's gonna comment."

Some students wore feathers on their heads and participated in a cheer called the "Redskin Rumble." Neshaminy lost the game 52-36.

Meanwhile, Sproul says she's waiting on her clients to decide whether to move forward with a lawsuit. For now, there isn't one. For now, McGoldrick and Hennessy have more mundane concerns. The first issue of the new school year has an October 22 deadline. A lawsuit still looms large as a possibility.

"As of right now, there is not," McGoldrick said of the potential court case. "We're just trying to put out a paper."