Despite some profanity and graphic artwork, a local high school's literary magazine is now for sale under one condition: students must present parents' signatures to buy it.
Copper Hills High School Principal Todd Quarnberg decided to let students start selling the magazine Wednesday after spending a week reviewing it. Quarnberg confiscated copies of Chasms last week before it was to go on sale because he had concerns about some of the content. The award-winning magazine, which consists of students' poetry, stories and art, includes some profanity, sexual situations and dark, grotesque art.
Quarnberg said he originally pulled the magazine out of concern for students. He said he worried they might not have fully realized the reaction their art and words might evoke from a conservative community. He also worried that some of the darker pieces might have been cries for help.
"I'm very protective of my kids and the way they're judged by the community," Quarnberg said. "Sometimes kids publish or write things without seeing the ramifications of what it may do."
Quarnberg said he ultimately decided to release the magazine -- with parental permission -- after reading it and discussing it with students. He said no parents have complained so far.
"I certainly don't want kids damaged, but I also want the high-quality art that is out there to be released," Quarnberg said.
Students said Wednesday they were relieved.
"Everybody gets to see the magazine now. It's as simple as that," said senior Cory Bobrowski, who worked as prose editor on Chasms .
Junior Rylee Padilla said she is thankful the magazine is being released unchanged.
"That's how kids at my school felt, and that's how they expressed themselves," Padilla said. "They did it for a reason. They weren't using the words they used just to swear."
Bobrowski and Cody Capson, a junior and director of public relations for the magazine, said the staff purposefully highlighted some of the more shocking parts of the magazine to grab students' attention. But the profanity was only included if editors felt it was integral, they said.
For example, one of the most shocking phrases in the magazine is part of a story about a student's experience with a cancer-stricken family member.
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," Bobrowski said. He said some of the pieces were toned down from their original versions.
The students say they don't regret the magazine's content. Class advisor Lou Jessop said he also feels the students' work was appropriate. Still, Jessop said, "had we known it was going to erupt like this we might have pushed for other ways to say things."
Quarnberg said he has full faith in Jessop, who will continue to advise the magazine class next school year. But he said he and other administrators will be more involved with the magazine's production in the future.
Quarnberg said he won't necessarily bar profanity or define what's appropriate. He said he wants students to continue push the envelope but hopes next year's edition doesn't require permission slips. He said the school must prepare students for college, and that colleges expect students to think critically and creatively.
"We will always push the line at Copper Hills to evoke high quality work," Quarnberg said. "I can't draw that line in the sand, but I know when it's crossed."Students aren't thrilled that administrators plan to be more involved, but say they respect Quarnberg and the way he worked with them to find a solution. Quarnberg said he was also impressed by the mature way students discussed the situation with him.
The students say it was one of the best learning experiences they've had.
"I think a lot of them are really taking away an appreciation for freedom of speech," Jessop said. "It's something they take for granted, but when it hits home on their work, it becomes very meaningful."
Jessop said as of Wednesday, the class had already sold about 100 copies of the magazine.
