U High's 'Titan Talk' newspaper comments shock students, parents
by KREM.com
Posted on April 14, 2010 at 8:12 PM
Updated Thursday, Apr 15 at 12:55 PM
SPOKANE VALLEY -- Many parents and a Spokane Valley High School principal are upset over controversial remarks printed in the school newspaper. The article is sparking an internal investigation at University High School.
A column in the paper asks students, "If you could be famous for anything, what would it be?" One student responds, "leader of the KKK". There are more comments like this the principal cannot believe made it into print last Friday.
"I first saw it yesterday morning and I was horrified because I read it immediately objected to the fact that we used terms in that article to me that are offensive. They are distasteful and certainly inappropriate," said University principal Daryl Hart.
Principal Hart says he does not have time to proofread the school's bi-monthly newspaper. He relies on student editors and a paid staff member. Last Friday, the school printed its latest version, "The Mercury". A section labeled "Titan Talk" gives students a chance to express their thoughts. The question was, "If you could be famous for anything, what would you be famous for?"
Some of the answers included curing cancer and being a pro boxer. But some went the other direction with answers including being J.F.K's assassin, killing someone famous, killing the president with a trident, and being the leader of the KKK. Principal Hart says he has asked some