An editorial is an article that expresses the cumulative opinion of a newspaper’s editorial team.

Administrative review is a newly implemented process that requires The Chariot and the Troy High School administrative board to work together to ensure that all news put forth by the newspaper is appropriate for the viewing of a high school audience. It requires The Chariot to send their final drafts to the administrative board for a thorough review in which the board has the capability to require The Chariot to remove information from the article or discard the article entirely. This new policy applies to all content The Chariot publishes, which includes not only their print issues and online articles, but also any social media posts. This process of review never leaves Troy High School prior to publication. 

Administrative review was implemented following the November 2024 edition of The Chariot which included news articles covering the topics of underage sex, illegal drug usage and online sports gambling. Shortly following its publication, Troy High School administrators removed the physical newspapers from the classrooms they had been distributed to, eventually returning them to The Chariot’s classroom.

On February 28, 2025, Christine DiPilato, Remo Roncone and Kerry Brennan, Troy School District Assistant Superintendent, Troy High School Principal and Troy High School Assistant Principal, respectively, spoke to The Chariot team in order to bring an issue in the newspaper’s mission statement to the staff’s attention. At the time, the mission statement affirmed that The Chariot operated under an open forum: free to publish all material and speech protected under the First Amendment. However, Section 2000.05 of the Troy School District board policy from 2015, unenforced and unheard of for the previous decade by any publication in the district, states that all student-run publications in the district operate under a closed forum and exercise administrative review: “Where deemed necessary, the [Troy] School District reserves the right to prohibit communication, by students or others, while observing all applicable legal requirements.” As such, The Chariot has updated its mission statement to reflect the board policy and is now exercising administrative review.

The aforementioned policy was bought by the district from Miller Johnson Policy Services, an education law firm that writes and sells school policies in bulk. The Editorial Board supports the conclusion that the bulk buying of the policy could have been a factor in the implementation of the closed forum. The entire policy, titled “Communication,” takes up just half of one page in a 43-page-long document. 

Its language is also very vague; for example: “The Superintendent, in consultation with building administrators, may develop and implement regulations for the posting and distribution of other information.” No further information is given on what those regulations might be or how they could be implemented. In short, the physical administrative review process in use since February 2025 is not explicitly written, let alone detailed, anywhere in the Troy School District’s board policy.

Prior to administrative review, The Chariot’s writing process moved from interviews to drafting to editing and then to finalization of an InDesign page; however, after the adoption of the policy, administrative review has been inserted twice within this process: after editing and after finalization. This process is lengthy and time-consuming, requiring considerable effort from both parties.

In the most literal sense, journalism is the activity or profession of writing for newspapers, magazines or news websites and preparing for the news to be broadcast. It upholds the values of honesty and integrity, taking all measures necessary to ensure that the news put forth is both factually accurate and nuanced. To accommodate for administrative review, we have found ourselves under pressure to rush our writing process. Publication dates have needed adjustment as well. Our ability to uphold the values of journalistic integrity has been compromised. 

The most intrusive effect of the change is the addition of fear into our processes. The anxiety over covering any topics that can, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered taboo or inappropriate has led us to confine our vision into a box. The traditional definition of journalism is the unbiased pursuit of the truth. It is especially difficult to maintain our former mindset, where there is now a possibility that the words we write might not make it to print. Our sessions of brainstorming have become quite familiar with the phrase “I don’t think we can do that.” The very root of every edition we create has shifted. Our ideas have bounds on them. 

 In the past, when The Chariot operated as an open forum, we held full control and bore all legal responsibility regarding the content published. Any consequences regarding legal issues brought up against the publication, i.e. libel, would have been The Chariot’s to bear exclusively. All legal fees would have to have been provided by the students with no official support from their advisor or the school administration, as well. 

Under a closed forum, any legal claims brought against the newspaper–be it content, interviews or structure–will be the administration’s responsibility. In essence, this would legally protect student reporters. As a result of the shift from open forum to closed forum, the administration is now entirely liable for all issues that may arise as they now oversee every step of publication.

It is unclear what the further ramifications of the policy will entail on The Chariot. We anticipate that as we work with the policy through a few issue cycles, the ambiguous details of the policy will be addressed. The policy itself is not incredibly explicit, many of the details are subjective such as whether or not a work “advocates the use or availability of any substance or material that may reasonably be believed to constitute a direct and substantial danger to the health or welfare of students.” 

This policy raises questions regarding what differentiates reporting and advocating. When covering controversial topics such as drugs or other difficult topics, it is difficult for us to discern what can be construed as reporting versus advocating. Currently, we are unsure as to what procedure to follow in the event that The Chariot team and administrative board disagree over an article and its implications.

Thus far, the administrative board has not censored any articles, however, The Chariot does not have this guarantee in the future. Though the current board may be reasonable and understanding of The Chariot’s work, a future board may not be. Due to this lack of security, our newspaper’s future holds uncertainty and concern. 

Although uncomfortable with this new process, The Chariot strives to continue pursuing reliable and accurate reporting. We hope to maintain a positive and constructive relationship with the review board throughout this process.