Zoe Abramson

Maura Hobson

Who:
My witness is Maura Hobson. She is the principal at Elizabethtown Area High School in Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania. As part of the administration she has the ability to look over the school newspaper
before the paper is sent to the publisher for printing (Geli).
Relevance:
She is relevant to the case because she is the one that decided that the comments shouldn’t be
incorporated into the paper. She is the one that made the statement that the students were trying to stir the
pot with what they were trying to print in the school newspaper since they were creating conflict among
school board members (Miller).
Testimony:
She will start off by introducing the defense’s side of the story. She will explain that my reason for
removing the comments were to help keep our students focused and to avoid stirring the pot both at
school and in the school board. She will then say that she allowed the first comments to stay because even
though she might not have agreed with them she had to let them stay because otherwise it would be a
violation of the students first amendment rights, but since the second comments stirred the pot she could
remove them to avoid distraction in the class. Se will also mention how the structure of how the school
newspaper works allows her to look over it. She will try to avoid showing the students as enemies and
more as people that were doing a good reporting job, and in the benefit of their education she had to pull
the comments (LNP Editorial Board).
Evidence:
She will introduce the school code of conduct as evidence (“Pennsylvania Administrative Code”). She
will then discuss how that lets her review the school paper before it is sent to the publisher. I will also say
how it allows me to remove comments that will disrupt the school environment.
Importance:
She is important to the case because she can provide the motive behind removing the comments, and
demonstrate that this removal was justified by referring to the code of conduct.
Questions:
Q. Ms. Hobson, what exactly happened regarding two articles about an interview with the school board
members, Menno Riggleman and Michael Martin?
● Well the first thing that I saw were controversial comments made by menno rigglemen in the
school paper. I was surprised when I saw these comments but I didn’t take any action against
them. When the next group of articles were submitted to me I saw a response with comments
from Micheal Martin. I decided to censor the comments made by Martin.
Q. Why did you allow one article to be published but not the other? Were there any differences that
allowed one but not the other?
● Riggleman's comments were the first comments, in his interview he discussed his personal
beliefs. Martin's comments were made in response to riggleman. Publishing Martin's comments
could create disagements within the school board members, some of whom are friends in a way
that a school shouldn’t do and it could also create disruptions for our students.
Q. What is the difference between a school newspaper that is independently funded and funded by the
school? Which is Elizabethtown Area High School’s newspaper?
● Well an independent news paper doesn’t have to be approved by administration since it isn’t
using any of the schools resources. Since thewspaper at our school isn’t independently funded the
administrator can look over it because they are using our resources.
Q. What role do you play in the newspaper?
● Since I am a principal I am part of the administration team that looks over the school newspaper
before it is sent to the publisher.
Q. So why did you censor Mr.Martin’s comments? What gave you the power to do this?
● Well as I said before I removed Mr. Martin's comments to avoid distractions for our students.
And I have the power to do this because the Pennsylvania Administrative code says I can limmits
students free speech if it will cause a distraction that will impact learning.
Q. Why did you feel allowing both articles to be published would cause disruption?
● Having both articles would cause a disruption because it would create a false image of school
board relationship, and it could divide our students, and take their attention away from learning.
Q. What is it your job as the principal to do when you see something as disruptive or problem causing
within or for your school?
● As a principal my job is to create the best possible learning environment for the students. If I see
comments, such as the response by Martin that are disruptive, it is my job to remove them to
allow the students to focus on their learning.

Works Cited
 Geli, Alex. “EAHS Principal Accused of Meddling With Student Newspaper.” The

Elizebethtown Advocate, 2 Mar. 2018, etownpa.com/eahs-principal-accused-meddling-

student-newspaper/. Accessed 6 Apr. 2018.

LNP Editorial Board. “Censoring a Student Newspaper May Be Legal, but It’s Not

Right.” Lancaster Online, 27 Feb. 2018,

lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/censoring-a-student-newspaper-may-be-legal-but-

it-s/article_09e8175a-1b51-11e8-ad8b-2fbc8a2fcf32.html. Accessed 6 Apr. 2018.

Miller, Barnra. “Student Claims School Paper Was Wrongly Censored.” Penn Live, 28

Feb. 2018, www.pennlive.com/news/2018/02/student_claims_school_paper_wa.html.

Accessed 6 Apr. 2018.

“Pennsylvania Administrative Code: Student Rights and Responsibilities.” Student Press Law
Center, 2018, www.splc.org/article/2005/12/pennsylvania-administrative-code-student-rights-
and-responsibilities. Accessed 6 Apr. 2018.