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As co-EIC of The Paly Voice, I frequently make important and difficult decisions regarding journalistic law and ethics. My experiences have taught me that, like any journalist, I must act quickly, make challenging decisions under pressure, and prioritize the safety and trust of the community while upholding ethical and legal standards.
Law & Ethics
After a student suicide last year, there was a staff discussion about whether we should publish a story about it. I attended grief counseling provided by the school and had to navigate our shared trauma and find an appropriate way to report on the incident. Shortly after, a man posting flyers came around campus spreading inaccurate and insensitive information about this event and attacking a school board member. Both topics were extremely sensitive for the community and required careful reporting. The content of the flyers was discussed among my staff: how and if we should report on it.
This story has to do with the reinstatement of a Physical Education teacher in our district who was arrested in 2022 for allegedly sexually assaulting a student 20 years ago but released due to insufficient evidence. I was heavily involved in the editing process and the decision for publishing. I worked closely with two of our staff's news editors and guided them through publishing controversial material. Looking back, the story may have been rushed since our sources relied heavily on parents and students voicing concerns, with little representation from the district or an interview with Colombo himself. If given the chance to approach it again, prioritizing more balanced sourcing would have made the coverage more ethical.
As co-EIC, I frequently receive emails from Paly alums who request a story they were quoted in to be taken down. This prompts discussions about whether we should take down or anonymize a source based on the content. This has become more relevant given recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement threats in the community, necessitating the creation of a Takedown Policy. This policy would ensure that sources can get stories taken down if what they're saying is a threat to their safety or their opinions have entirely changed.
This is an example of a takedown request that my co-EIC and I have received. This email impelled a staff discussion for the creation of a Takedown Policy. Our policy is currently being reviewed by a Santa Clara judge to ensure precise legal language.
This is a request The Paly Voice received to take down a story.
This is a draft of The Paly Voice Takedown policy.
I received tips from the Santa Clara judge about our Takedown policy.
Brainstorming a takedown policy was a long process. I began working on drafting a policy when I first became co–EIC after the Student Press Law Center advised student publications to have a clear policy in place, particularly in light of developments related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In spring 2025, I organized a lesson where the staff analyzed elements of other publications’ takedown policies to identify ideas we could incorporate into our own. Afterward, I sent out a Google Form where staff members could state whether or not they would be comfortable having a policy for taking down stories explicitly stated on our website.
In response to the presence of ICE in our community, local students organized a walkout. In its coverage, our staff exercised heightened caution regarding who we quoted and photographed. Prior to the event, I met with reporters assigned to cover the walkout, underscoring the importance of communicating the implications to sources being quoted or photographed in our coverage. Following the event, our staff comprehensively discussed which sources to include in the story and the extent to which those sources gave consent. We wanted to have the utmost confidence that sources were comfortable with their image and words being publicized.
Additionally, before the student walkout, my co-EIC and I encouraged the staff to review the introductory journalism presentation on how to cover a protest. This presentation serves as a reminder for every reporter preparing to cover potentially tense situations and is one I personally refer to before reporting on any event that could become rowdy.
News Literacy
I attended and reported on a court case in December 2025 about a high school journalism adviser being reassigned after allowing his students to publish a controversial story about sexual and verbal harassment from teachers to students. Some facts of the case directly contradicted California Education Code 48907, which protects the free speech and publishing rights of student journalists and their advisers. In January 2026, the judge granted a writ of mandate for the petitioner. These are photos of me receiving contact information from the San Francisco Unified School District's lawyer and a photograph of the court reporter talking to lawyers.
At the conclusion of the hearing, both sets of lawyers met with the court reporter before going separate ways.
Photo Credit: Ava Knapp
I talked to the lawyer representing the San Francisco Unified School District briefly. He gave me his contact information and a few details he was allowed to disclose given the pending nature of the case.
Photo Credit: Adam Knapp
I attended two JEA conventions, one in my sophomore year (Boston) and one in my junior year (Seattle). In both, I competed in news writing competitions, the National Journalism Quiz Bowl, and attended lectures on journalism topics including reporting on legal cases, integrating AI into reporting, writing about tragedies, and more.
As a team of four, we ended up placing first in the qualifier round of the National Journalism Quiz Bowl. This was the first time any team from our school had ever qualified. After competing in the second round, we posed with a 'Finals Participant' award.
Photo Credit: Paul Kandell
Esther Wojcicki—founder of my school's journalism program, author of "How to Raise Successful People", and close friend with my journalism adviser, Paul Kandell—met up with my colleague and me at the 2025 JEA convention in Seattle. She shared valuable insights about the challenges she faced as a woman pioneering a respected and well-established journalism program.
This is the presentation that announced my honorable mention in the Newswriting category.
The National Journalism Quiz Bowl room prior to our team competing at the 2025 JEANC.
The JEANC 2025 slideshow where The Paly Voice won 5th place for Best of Show for a website representing more than 1,800 students.
The JEANC 2024 website announcement where I won honorable mention in the broadcast newswriting competition.
Paly's National Journalism Quiz Bowl team moments before competing in the qualifier round.
Photo Credit: Rod Satterthwaite
The message a journalism adviser received informing us that our Paly's National Journalism Quiz Bowl team placed number one overall.
Before The Paly Voice competed for a website award, I communicated with my co-EIC, who was in Palo Alto at the time, about putting up a clever infographic to add to the cover of our website.
At the JEA Boston Convention in 2023, I took detailed notes on sessions that have helped shape my work as both a journalist and a leader. After attending sessions about artificial intelligence, I began using AI to brainstorm interview questions. I also incorporated more charts and graphics to improve reader understanding. Additionally, I encourage The Paly Voice staff to consider what our readers need to know, how to make complex issues accessible, and how to build trust through community connection.
Our publication occasionally receives complimentary tickets to local concerts, with the understanding that, as journalists, we provide coverage and photographs of the event. Below are photographs I took at a Laufey concert I attended with a managing editor and the story that resulted from our reporting.
Being communicative with sources is really important for writing stories but also for networking in general. I have written heavy-hitting stories and in order to do so, I've had to be available to key interviewees. Phone calls are typically a good method if the source is hard to reach otherwise, but I've also made a point to communicate via text message. Below are conversations I've had with some key sources over text, which helped build a stronger reporter-source relationship.
A conversation with PAUSD School Board Vice President Rowena Chiu.
A conversation with the former Santa Clara District Attorney Erin West.
A conversation with a wrongfully reassigned Lowell High School Journalism Adviser Eric Gustafson.
A conversation with co-founder of Operation Shamrock Jacob Sims, based in Washington D.C.
A conversation with CBS publicist Sarah Sherwood regarding the nationwide "No Kings" protest.
A conversation with Youth Community Service president Tessa Berney about East Palo Alto's Ecumenical Hunger Program's recent loss of funds.
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