We Were Censored–What Happens Now?

The Blue and White was founded on the principle of student voices being amplified and valued. Our goal was to be an uncensored publication because this aligns with the Quaker testimonies we practice and upholds the many truths that exist within our community. However, within the current political climate, the fact of the matter is, independent schools are not protected by the First Amendment giving the administration the final say in what we can and cannot publish. 

As we wrote when the newspaper first launched, we started The Blue and White because “We thought there should be a place for students to learn about the goings-on of student life from fellow students in a less censored and teacher-occupied space. Friends Education encourages students to speak their truth, giving them the confidence to advocate for what they believe, in an effort to bring justice in school and in life. Quaker Education motivates students to embrace that they are leaders and that being a leader comes in different forms because no one was created to be the same.” 

“We want to develop stories students are going to read that are relevant to the world we’re growing up in. We’re hoping to build an inclusive space that respects all perspectives and will result in bringing the AFS community together.”

Earlier this school year, a student submitted an article about the war in Gaza to The Blue and White. We subsequently reached out to several other students to commission multiple articles that reflected a range of opinions on the war. Ultimately, three students offered different perspectives. 

When asked why she thought her article was important, Gabriela Puntel ‘25, author of a piece advocating for Palestine said, “Everybody is seeing the news. Just because we don’t talk about it in school, people don’t hear or talk about it at home…We have to talk about these things. We can’t just let these things happen and then expect history to be the teller of ‘oh this was wrong.’”

After several meetings and discussions with faculty advisor Daniel Benjamin and Head of School Nicole Hood, Dr. Hood decided that Puntel’s article could not be published. As part of our integral responsibility to the school, The Blue and White came to the decision that we would not publish one of the articles without the others. We are committed to representing multiple sides. The final decision was incredibly disheartening for us and the students involved. 

Hood said, “Because the B&W is explicitly an AFS sponsored publication, the school is effectively the publisher of the paper. All newspapers operate under the financial and legal responsibility of a publisher. And no newspaper publishes ‘anything’ offered for publication. Editors are responsible for what goes in the paper and that responsibility is shared with the publisher. It is a partnership.”

Hood expressed that she was cautious to move forward with the piece advocating for Palestine due, in part, to recent incidents that occurred during the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference (PoCC) last December. 

During the conference, two speakers sparked accusations of anti-semitism after speaking.

The speakers at the conference framed the war that was happening in Gaza as a “genocide” and the establishment of the state of Israel as a “racist project.” The conference included 1700 private schools, including 60 Jewish day schools. Leaders of several Jewish groups stated that “some Jewish students were frightened” feeling as if they had to hide their identity.

According to NAIS, the organization “received a letter from four national Jewish organizations — the Jewish Federations of North America, the American Jewish Committee, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools, and the Anti-Defamation League — regarding divisive and hurtful comments expressed on stage at PoCC.”

What happened at PoCC became more publicized after being featured in the New York Times, where the author Sarah Maslin Nir explained the rhetoric used at the conference that resulted in backlash from Jewish organizations. 

One of the speakers, Ruha Benjamin, a professor of African American studies at Princeton University was critical of the NAIS’s decision to apologize, further defending her language. 

Ruha Benjamin wrote in an email to the New York Times, “The weaponization of the charge of antisemitism is a disservice to everyone.” 

The situation with PoCC does show some of the larger implications that go with the discussion of this topic, and any expression of a pro-Palestinian perspective. Often, those who are critical of the Israeli government face accusations of antisemitism.  Hood was concerned that if the article were published, Abington Friends might be opening itself to similar backlash. 

Puntel said, “Nicole wanted to meet…We met with her on Friday of midterm week, and [she] basically said…  that [my article] shouldn’t be released, especially because of external pressures and the fear of the school’s image being hurt by student opinion. It was really disappointing to experience and made me feel…disappointed in the way the school addressed the whole situation.”

The concerns brought to our attention by Hood were that if an outside organization took the article advocating for Palestine out of context, the article could damage the school’s reputation and potentially be labeled as anti-Semitic due to its use of the word “genocide” and how it was phrased in Puntel’s headline “Israel is Commiting Genocide–what side of history do you want to be on”.

The Blue and White editors had drafted a preface to display above the articles, which stated, “This article is an example of student perspective and is not a direct reflection of the views or opinions of the Blue and White or of Abington Friends School. Our intent is to provide a space where all students have the opportunity to express their voice without being censored or discouraged from doing so.” Unfortunately, Hood was pessimistic that this statement would prevent the words of Puntel and potentially other students from being taken out of context. 

Hood said, “My concern is with reputational risk to the paper and to the school. Gabriela’s article exposed both to an excessive level of risk, given the current cultural and political climate. I completely support Gabriela’s effort to cultivate deeper conversation around the crisis in Gaza and Israel. But I was unwilling to risk harm to the school by publishing her article in a publicly accessible online forum that could be distributed, manipulated, and consumed in unintended ways.”

Puntel said, “I did a lot of research…and I was really proud of it. In my piece, I was showcasing a lot of statistics, a lot of facts, but also my own opinion. I expressed…we need to free Palestine and that there was a genocide occuring in Gaza. I knew that there was a lot of censorship…in the world about people expressing the same opinions, but I had hope that the school would be able to respect conversation about difficult things and encourage people to do their own research and formulate their own opinions.”

Originally, we were eager to publish all three articles for precisely this reason. Representing student perspectives was one of the foremost values on which the Blue and White was founded. We wanted to honor our words and allow student voices to be heard. 

Puntel continued to explain her frustration about the process and lack of communication, saying, “I got some edits back within a week…and I didn’t hear anything until I started reaching out because I was concerned about what was going to happen. [Then], I was told it was going to come out in January and that was confirmed. I met with other people like Mikael [Yisrael, Director of Equity, Justice, and Engagement], just to express my concern about how the school…talks a lot about having difficult conversations, learning about complex topics, [and] … recognizing violence…We go to a Quaker school, I would [have] hoped the school would have said something more about what was happening in Gaza.”

After the article continued to be delayed in January, a ceasefire was announced, and Puntel expressed concerns about her article’s continued relevance.   

Puntel said, “A ceasefire was announced, and I reached out to [Blue and White faculty advisor] Daniel Benjamin again, wondering if we could write a little thing saying when the article was written because I didn’t want people thinking that the stuff in my article was outdated and therefore invalid. Then he emailed me back saying Nicole wanted to meet.”

The Wednesday following the meeting between the Blue and White editors, Puntel, Benjamin, and Hood, during Meeting for Worship, Puntel addressed the situation. 

Puntel said, “I decided to… say something during the Meeting for Worship. I was conscious of the fact that…during the actual time is not the time to say things like that. I was even conscious of thinking of waiting until they said ‘joys or concerns’ and then I said that the school censored my piece and that’s pretty concerning.”

After her statement in Meeting For Worship, she expressed that many students were interested in reading her work. Puntel’s message sparked further discussion among the student body. 

Puntel said, “A lot of people reached out saying they wanted to read my article and hear more about the situation, and I’m really glad that even though my piece didn’t get to go out in the newspaper, that people are still interested in talking, even if they don’t necessarily agree with what I have to say, we can talk about it because that’s the whole point.”

The reason why publications and newspapers exist is to protect our democracy. We believe that in order to move forward and address conflict, it’s essential to exercise our First Amendment rights to promote change. When free speech dies so does our ability to think critically, listen to different perspectives, and bring justice by revealing the untold truths that exist within the cracks of our society. 

When asked to elaborate on why she believed her article should be published to push difficult conversation at AFS and beyond, Puntel said, “Nicole asked me why I wanted this article to be specifically published in the newspaper. I think it’s because the newspaper is a place for student voice, and me having published this would have shown, especially with the other [articles] it would have started the conversation because honestly we haven’t had any conversations about Palestine and Israel at all in school. It’s been over a year and we still haven’t talked about it… I think students pressuring administration to do these things…it encourages things to actually happen.”

In context of her Quaker education, Puntel said, “Quakerism has been a radical movement in the past with war, slavery, abolition…I think the school isn’t really honoring that and I think sometimes they’re using the Quakerism for its idea of ‘having community’ and being ‘in peace’…but Quakerism has never been simple and peaceful, it’s been protests, action against systems of oppression, and you can’t ignore that.”

We have, in the past, been able to publish various articles that represented a wide range of perspectives about various issues, such as articles talking about this past year’s election, where students voiced opinions about the candidates Harris and Trump. We were hopeful that we would also be able to publish these pieces wherein students give information and perspectives on the conflict in the Middle East, but we were prevented from doing so. However, this is an opportunity for us to reemphasize the importance of student voices and their impact on the school and the world around them. 

Even though Puntel’s article, along with the rest of the pieces that provided commentary on the war happening in Gaza weren’t published, continuing to express thoughts and opinions on the world that surrounds us will push AFS, and other independent institutions to address difficult topics that impact members of their community.

The Blue and White is still committed to representing the voice of students in the AFS community. We strongly encourage people to continue to send in articles that they want published and we will continue to advocate for and with them. We have always taken the time and effort our peers put into their work seriously. That being said, we have learned from this experience to be more assertive with communication and transparency. 

When asked what Puntel would say to someone in the future who wants to publish pieces that may be seen as controversial, she said, “I think definitely you should write if it comes to you. You have to be prepared to advocate for yourself and really continue asking people, encouraging people, and asking questions in general. If you don’t ask it’s going to get pushed away. I don’t want to say don’t expect administration to be on your side because sometimes they are, but don’t be as surprised if that’s an outcome and have other outlets if that is the case.”

Over the past year, we have received impactful student work that fills the news, opinion, arts, sports, and feature columns, showcasing the talent, creativity, and diversity that thrives in our hallways and classrooms. As individuals and students our opinions and voices are more important than ever as we witness and experience these changes firsthand, through the media we consume, the classes we take, the music we listen to, or the conversations we share.  

Our goal is to ultimately publish anything a student submits, even if it provokes disagreement. It is through our words that we continue to challenge and shape the world around us, and it’s important to continue to combat censorship through our nuanced ideas. 

We want students to continue to share their voices and talents through the Blue and White and we hope that students feel empowered and supported when they do. We also encourage students to speak to each other and us about this situation. We were discouraged, but now we are eager to see just how much we can learn.