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STAND FOR SPEECH RALLY
WHEN? SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 12PM - 4PM
WHERE? FOLEY SQUARE, NYC
PASS THE STUDENT JOURNALIST FREE SPEECH ACT.
Teens for Press Freedom stands with student journalists.
That's why we're teaming up with New Voices New York and Student Press Law Center to advocate for the
Student Journalist Free Speech Act.
Join us on June 13th to show your support for the bill, hear from an array of speakers, make posters, write letters, and enjoy live music. Social distancing and masks required.
SCHEDULE
12 PM - Kickoff
12:30 - Speaker Series
1 PM - Sunshine Jazz Band
1:30 - Activities
2 PM - Activities
2:30 - Rockfowl Sing-Along
3 PM - Speaker Series
3:30 - Closing
4 PM - Clean Up
MEET THE SPONSORS
Teens for Press Freedom (TPF) is a national, youth-led organization dedicated to defending journalists and promoting factual literacy among youth. With increasing distrust in credible sources and an influx of fake news on social media, it’s crucial to educate young people on how to be smart, active consumers. TPF was founded in 2020 after cofounders Charlotte Hampton and Isabel Tribe attended the PEN America Summer Free Speech Advocacy Institute. TPF holds weekly open forum workshops to discuss press freedom issues and releases a weekly news blast to connect youth with accessible, verifiable information. TPF also advocates for the passage of legislation aimed at reviving local news and protecting the free press in America.
PEN America, founded in 1922 and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights. With more than 7,200 members—including novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, and other writing professionals—PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 PEN centers worldwide that together compose PEN International. PEN America has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan Student Press Law Center provides information, training and legal assistance at no charge to student journalists and the educators who work with them. Founded in 1974, the SPLC works at the intersection of law, journalism and education to promote, support and defend the First Amendment and press freedom rights of student journalists and their advisers at the high school and college level. The SPLC uses the law to help students of all ages meaningfully participate in civic life and learn essential skills, ethics and values through the vehicle of journalism. The SPLC provides information, training and legal assistance at no charge to student journalists and the educators who work with them.
New Voices is a student-powered nonpartisan grassroots movement of state-based activists who seek to protect student press freedom with state laws. These laws counteract the impact of the 1988 Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court decision, which dramatically changed the balance of student press rights. New Voices supporters include advocates in law, education, journalism and civics who want schools and colleges to be more welcoming places for student voices.
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Tahanie Aboushi
Tahanie Aboushi is a civil rights attorney and partner at The Aboushi Law Firm in New York City with two of her siblings. She is a Democratic candidate for Manhattan District Attorney in the June 2021 Democratic primary election.
Ava Lubell
In her capacity as a Legal Fellow at the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, Ava Lubell provides pro bono legal advice to NYC metro area journalists on a range of First Amendment issues arising from newsgathering and publication.
Brad Lander (Invited)
Brad Lander is a member of the New York City Council, representing the 39th District in Brooklyn. Brad serves as the Council’s Deputy Leader for Policy. He co-founded the Council’s Progressive Caucus, helped bring participatory budgeting to NYC, and has a track record of protecting workers rights and creating affordable housing. He is currently running for New York City Comptroller.
Katina Paron
As a journalism educator and editor, Katina Paron, MJE, has helped thousands of teens earn bylines in professional publications. From the award-winning “Since Parkland'' to supporting student publications, her work elevates the voices and experiences of young people and provides journalism training and mentorship to teens. The author of “A NewsHound’s Guide to Student Journalism,” she also manages the Teach for Chicago Journalism program at Medill, teaches journalism at the City University of New York, and edits "The Future is Ms." a teen-written column for Ms. magazine. Her articles on scholastic journalism have appeared in the New York Times and WNYC. Find her on Twitter (@katinaparon) and Instagram (@DearTeenJournalist).
Victoria Oei
Victoria Oei is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. As Co-Editor-in-Chief of her school's newspaper, The Classic, she enjoys working on investigative pieces with her co-editors. When not working on the paper, she also leads a club focused on helping students become successful after graduation by teaching them important life skills. She will be attending Baruch College in the fall as a marketing management major and is hoping to complete a minor in journalism.
Samantha Sestak
Samantha Sestak is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. As Co-Editor-in-Chief of her school’s newspaper, The Classic, she oversees coverage of pressing issues within the school community with her co-editors. Samantha is captain of her school’s varsity soccer team and an alumna of Hk Maker Lab, an engineering internship at Columbia University. She will be attending Harvard College in the fall as a bioengineering major.
Charlotte Hampton
Charlotte Hampton is a junior at the High School of American Studies at Lehman College and a cofounder of Teens for Press Freedom. She is a dancer in the Alvin Ailey Junior Division. Hampton writes for her school newspaper, Common Sense, as editorial head and is on the Economics Team, Debate Team, and Model UN. She loves to read.
Isabel Tribe
Isabel Tribe is a junior at the High School of American Studies at Lehman College and cofounder of Teens for Press Freedom. This fall, Tribe attended the Mountain School of Milton Academy, a semester school where she worked on a farm and studied environmental science. She studies law and justice at New York University’s High School Law Institute and interned for The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. As a member of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Youth Insights Artists program, she loves making and engaging with the arts. She runs cross country and track.
