School paper suspended for publishing story on football transfers

In Mass there are examples of kids forgetting the script, so to speak (theyre supposed so say I need tutors and small classes not my travel ball coach goes to my new school) leading to denied transfer waivers and suspensions.

Then they go to court and the state athletic association rules get over turned.

So if youre an AD or principal, why bother contesting a transfer?

 

This is the logical extension of the wonderful "schools of choice" bullshit in which little Dick and Jane can hopscotch around to any school they want for a math or English or chemistry program and everybody thinks it's marvelous, but if they switch for football or basketball, everybody loses their minds.

In the olden olden days, if your kid went to School District X, and it sucked in certain academic areas, your choices as a parent were:

1) Stay put and bang your fists to demand the school board improve the programs at School District X;

2) Pull yourselves up by your BOOTSTRAPS!! and move to fancy schnancy School District Y with better academic programs; or

3) Shell out the bucks to send your kid to Private School ZZZZ.

Now everybody just hits Schools of Choice and runs for the hills.

 

I'd be shocked if the Morning News/Democrat-Gazette dug into them at all. I'm not even seeing a story in today's editions about the national attention this story received this weekend.

 

"Springdale Superintendent Jim Rollins wrote in a letter to Sprague that the story would not be republished because it was “intentionally negative, demeaning, derogatory, hurtful and potentially harmful to the students addressed in those articles.” Rollins also called it “extremely divisive and disruptive” to the school district."

Note that nowhere does Rollins say that the article wasn't true and factual. Life is frequently "intentionally negative, demeaning, derogatory, hurtful and potentially harmful." It must really suck for Rollins that the truth is "extremely divisive and disruptive" for him and his lies.

 

Then they should close up shop because they are clearly uninterested or unable to do their jobs properly.

 

The Springdale public information officer is Rick Schaeffer, the former University of Arkansas SID. He also co-hosts a sports talk show every afternoon.

Talk about a conflict of interests.

 

Yeah, and all the great people who work there and have nothing to do with such decisions should lose their jobs.

Great perspective, poo.

 

Apparently, you need this. Please read what you find at the link, try to comprehend it and apologize. Thank you.

Definition of HYPERBOLE

Once you have actually grasped my rhetorical approach, perhaps you will have something of value to say about the topic. Maybe you are clueless enough to defend local professionals sitting this one out.

 

FWIW, the kids reached out to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about the district punishing them. After they got zero response, then they went to BuzzFeed.

 

Is the Democrat-Gazette really so stupid as to think that "admin cracks down on school newspaper" stories don't go viral within journalism communities? Come on, this is low hanging fruit for clicks.

 

It's not too shocking the Dem-Gaz didn't jump on the original story -- if every paper dug into every angry email or phone call alleging cheating or improper inducements in prep transfers, there'd be no time to take phone calls for JV soccer games.

But not to jump all over the "autocratic school officials clamp down on student journalists" angle is pretty surprising.

 

I'd say even the transfer story should have gotten more attention -- FIVE starters transfer from one school to the other and they went to the school that had LOST for 10 straight years? That seems really strange.

The article says:

"That’s especially true because just a few weeks prior, the Springdale Bulldogs played the Har-Ber Wildcats for their annual game. For the first time in 11 years, the Bulldogs won. One of the players who transferred scored the winning touchdown in the final seconds."

It seems really odd that kids were transfer TO the school that hasn't won since they were in preschool. I would think D-1 chances would be better at the school that wins.