We, the staff of The Lowell, condemn the Lowell administration’s decision to remove Eric Gustafson as our journalism teacher and adviser. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article published on April 23, Mr. Gustafson said that he was notified of this act in late March. He said that the administration cited concerns about his management of The Lowell’s October 2024 article featuring students who allegedly experienced verbal harassment from teachers, as well as a student-proposed story regarding a rumor about teachers using artificial intelligence to grade student work, which was ultimately not written or published. In a statement provided to The Lowell, principal Jan Bautista said that Mr. Gustafson’s reassignment was unrelated to any content published under his leadership. “The change of the journalism teacher is not related to any form of censorship nor is it disciplinary or retaliatory,” Bautista said in the statement. “Our hope is to bring new opportunities and instructional guidance from a highly qualified teacher to our journalism courses.”
The administration’s decision has garnered frustration and disappointment not only from our publication, but also from other students, parents, and Lowell alumni. On May 6, San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar introduced a non-binding resolution to show support for student journalism at Lowell and in San Francisco in the face of the reassignment. Six other supervisors co-sponsored the resolution: Joel Engardio, Jackie Fielder, Chyanne Chen, Stephen Sherrill, Danny Sauter, and Bilal Mahmood. We feel that the removal of Mr. Gustafson as our teacher and adviser brings no benefit to the journalism program and, we believe, signifies a step towards limiting student voices in our publication.
Since 2017, Mr. Gustafson has served as Lowell’s journalism teacher and the adviser for The Lowell. He trains and requires us to do detailed research, data collection, and interviews in advance of reporting on any issue, making sure we present a well-researched, objective, and in-depth discussion of those topics. We are deeply grateful for the mentorship and motivation that he has provided us for all these years, and he has helped us grow both as students and as journalists. Because of him, The Lowell has remained truly student-run, and losing him as our journalism adviser would be devastating to our publication. Above all, Mr. Gustafson has taught us that as student journalists, we have the right and the responsibility to exercise our freedom of speech.
California Education Code Section 48907 states that, “Students of the public schools shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press including, but not limited to, the use of bulletin boards, the distribution of printed materials or petitions, the wearing of buttons, badges, and other insignia, and the right of expression in official publications…except that expression shall be prohibited which is obscene, libelous, or slanderous.” Under this law, we are able to publish what we choose to report on within reasonable limits as outlined by the law. This is a privilege that 32 other states in the country do not have, as their school administrations have the power to limit what student journalists can publish beyond the limitations outlined in Section 48907.
Section 48907, however, does not only protect student journalists. The law also protects student media advisers from all forms of administrative retaliation — including being removed from their adviser position — when they stand up for their students’ rights under the law. Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel with the Student Press Law Center, said the law was specifically amended in 2008 to include legal protection for student media advisers because administrators regularly targeted them when their students published or sought to publish stories school officials didn’t like. That, he said, seems to be what is happening now at Lowell.
The staff of The Lowell strives to report on issues that are relevant and impactful for students at Lowell, and we cover difficult topics in order to bring attention to them. While these issues are often challenging to address, the guidance that we receive from Mr. Gustafson helps us fully realize these ideas in our articles while holding our work to high standards. The hardest stories to write are often the most important. Though these topics may be seen as uncomfortable, we feel it is important to shine a light on these often overlooked issues to generate conversations and move towards finding solutions and understanding.
The removal of Mr. Gustafson from his position as our journalism teacher and adviser would be deeply harmful not only to The Lowell, but to the wider Lowell community as well. In our current political climate, we believe it is important, now more than ever, to support a free and robust student press. Our ability to raise awareness about issues affecting the Lowell community is crucial to keeping students and staff informed, and without Mr. Gustafson as our adviser, The Lowell would lose an invaluable source of support and expertise.
This editorial was not reviewed by Eric Gustafson prior to publication, and was instead edited by senior legal counsel Mike Hiestand of the Student Press Law Center and San Francisco Chronicle reporter Nanette Asimov.
