The Hawk Eye Editorial Policy
The Hawk Eye is written and produced as an extracurricular activity by Council Rock High School South students and distributed free of charge to members of the school community.
The Hawk Eye strives to model Council Rock School District’s Mission Statement, which states the district “is committed to children and will empower them with skills and knowledge through comprehensive, innovative, and diverse educational experiences.”
To that end, newspaper staff members will exercise the freedom of expression granted to all Pennsylvania scholastic journalism in the Pennsylvania School Code, which cites the Tinker v. Des Moines School District Supreme Court decision of 1969.
A public forum for student expression since its inception in 2002, The Hawk Eye will print only content the First Amendment protects as free speech as defined in The Law of the Student Press.
The Hawk Eye will not publish material that is libelous, obscene, materially disruptive of the school process, an unwarranted invasion of privacy, a violation of copyright laws or an electronic manipulation changing the essential truth of a photo or illustration.
Consisting of all editors and assistant editors, the editorial board is the decision making body of the newspaper. The Statement of Principles of the American Society of Newspaper Editors - a code of ethics outlining the principles of responsibility, fairness and accuracy - guides this board and all other members of the newspaper staff.
Opinions expressed on the opinion and editorial pages do not necessarily reflect the views of district residents, the school board, the administration, the faculty, the staff or the adviser.
All unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of the editorial board. Signed editorials, columns, cartoons, and reviews reflect the views of the writer.
Responsible, balanced, and accurate reporting is the goal of the newspaper staff. The Hawk Eye will make a formal correction in the following issue if an error is printed.
The adviser of The Hawk Eye will offer advice and instruction and help the newspaper staff to cover all issues in a legal, objective, accurate, and ethical manner. The adviser will not censor legally protected speech or determine the content of the paper.
Letters to the editor, guest columns and all other material submitted for publication by members of the school community are welcomed and must include the writer’s name, telephone number, and class or position. Submissions should be typed and double-spaced. The Hawk Eye will not publish submissions using “name withheld.”
Submissions from members of the school community should be addressed to the editor and given or sent to a member of the editorial board or to the adviser. All submissions will be checked for verification and for spelling, usage and grammar. Letters to the editor should be signed and limited to 300 words or less. The Hawk Eye will not print submissions containing unprotected speech. Criticism should be constructive and supported by facts.
The editorial board will make the final decision on all material appearing in The Hawk Eye.
Those wishing to advertise in The Hawk Eye should contact the adviser.
The Hawk Eye reserves the right to refuse any business or person seeking to advertise any product or position that is illegal or considered unhealthy or undesirable for students of Council Rock High School as determined by the editorial board.
The Hawk Eye will print public service ads at the discretion of the editorial board but will not print political ads.
At the discretion of the editorial board, The Hawk Eye may cover student, staff, faculty and alumnus deaths as the editorial board is made aware of them.