A segment of The Mane was cut from the Feb. 13 episode. The department chair of business, family and consumer science, and technology and engineering prevented the publication of a segment about ICE agents in Minnesota, stating that it was too sensitive for students.

The segment included news footage of ICE agents participating in pursuits, arrests, investigations, descriptions of recent fatalities, representatives of Minnesota’s statements, and public protests, along with a voiceover describing the situation in Minneapolis.

Censoring student media is illegal under most circumstances in Illinois.

In Illinois, the Speech Rights of Student Journalists Act protects the freedom of speech of student journalists. The act prohibits administrators from preventing the release of appropriate material.

Student Press Law Center Senior Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand said the act gives high school journalists strong protection against censorship.

“School officials cannot block a story simply because it addresses a controversial political issue,” Hiestand said.

SPLC Staff Attorney Jonathan Gaston-Falk informed on what can be censored by administrators.

“You’re able to head back to your department chair and ask which of the following the clip falls under: (1) is libelous, slanderous, or obscene; (2) constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy; (3) violates federal or State law; or (4) incites students to commit an unlawful act, to violate policies of the school district, or to materially and substantially disrupt the orderly operation of the school,” Gaston-Falk said.

“I don’t think it falls under any of those,” Bigham said. “I saw it myself. It was not obscene, it was strictly informative.”

The department chair and Principal Daniel DeBruycker declined to be interviewed for this story. DeBruycker requested more time to discuss the incident.

“I would like to discuss with our staff before finalizing our plans for The Mane,” DeBruycker said in an email.

Bigham believes The Mane’s purpose is to inform and educate the student body about issues.

“It is certainly a sensitive political topic with recent events, but at the same time, I think it’s something that is very important to our world and very important to many students here at Metea,” Bigham said.

According to the producer of the segment, Sofie Joiner, the department chair cited the footage of ICE agents carrying guns as a reason for censoring the segment.

However, Senior Legal Counsel, Mike Hiestand from the SPLC, believes the topic is of public concern.

“Coverage of immigration enforcement, ICE activity, or images of armed federal agents are matters of extraordinary public concern at the moment,” Hiestand said.

Hiestand supports the segment’s legality, and the subject matter does not promote censorship.

“Controversial or politically sensitive subject matter alone is not a lawful basis for censorship under Illinois law,” Hiestand said. “Discussion, disagreement, or discomfort does not meet the legal definition.”

Joiner has published a previous segment before that included troops carrying guns and was allowed to publish.

“My first ever segment this year I made was about the National Guard, and they were pictured holding guns,” Joiner said.

In September, a segment about the assassination of Charlie Kirk was removed. Executive Editor Isabelle Nevarez informed producer Mac Law that the story was not included in the Sept. 26 episode.

This is not the first time The Mane has been censored. In 2018, administrators censored a segment about a restaurant, which included footage of bottles of alcohol behind the restaurant’s bar. Administrators interpreted the footage as promoting alcohol consumption.

For Bigham, censorship adds to a growing frustration between student journalists and school administrators.

“It sort of says a lot that the administration doesn’t trust us as growing young adults to be able to hear these things,” Bigham said.

Editor’s Note: The headline of this article was changed after publication. The original headline implied the department chair is a school administrator. She is the department chair of business, family and consumer science, and technology and engineering. The Stampede regrets this error.

Editor’s Note: Following the publication of this article, the name of the department chair of business, family and consumer science, and technology and engineering has been removed. The department chair will no longer be responsible for approving segments of The Mane. Building administrators will now have this responsibility.