Monticello High School simmers after arrest of student editor

The River Reporter
Thursday, January 26, 1995

By TOM RUE

MONTICELLO - Events continued to churn this week in response to the January 13th arrest of a 17 year-old Monticello High School (MHS) student for publishing and circulating on school grounds a newsletter containing obscenities and criticisms of officials for their strict enforcement of school rules.

The newspaper urged students -- some of whom have complained about limited lavatory access -- to urinate on the floor. It also called for painting graffiti on walls and "cloud the bathrooms with your glorious cigarette smoke."

Copies were quietly circulated in study halls, according to a student who said distribution was not done disruptively, and was hardly noticable until one was discovered by administrators.

Superintendent Eileen Casey said officials had the editor arrested for inciting to riot and criminal nuisance in the second degree due out of fear for the safety of the student body. The complaint was signed by principal George Will, according to the youth's father.

Though publicly reported elsewhere, names of the youths involved are being withheld by The River Reporter due to their ages.

Arraignment of the arrested youth has been adjourned to January 27th, Village of Monticello Justice Court officials said.

Lawsuit threatened vs. school district

Monticello lawyer Mark Schulman has reportedly filed a notice of claim against Monticello Central School District threatening to sue Monticello Central School District for $1 million.

School district attorney Henri Shawn said neither he nor other school officials had seen the reported document, stating Schulman may have served it by mail. Shawn said he could not comment on the threatened suit until he sees the papers.

The claim is said to be based on an unlawful search of the home and bedroom of the parents of the youth who published the newspaper. A computer disk belonging to the student's father was taken by village police, according to chief Michael Brennan.

Village police officer Sal Accomando and another officer entered and took the disk from the home on Town Park Rd., which is well outside village limits, according to Brennan and the youth's father.

He acknowledged being aware his son was working on an underground newspaper, but said he did not see a need to review or censor it. Most of the contents were reportedly written by other students.

Schulman has accused MHS assistant principal Ivan Katz of also entering the home with police after accompanying them from the school on January 13th, and conducting the search with them. The youth's father made no mention of this during a lengthy interview last week, though not specifically asked about it.

Katz did not respond to a message left with someone answering the door at his home on Saturday who said he was unavailable.

Shawn disputed the allegation involving Katz, but declined to comment specifically until he reviews the notice of claim.

Administrative hearings held

Administrative disciplinary hearings on some of the youth involved with the publication, including the editor and a writer, were held at district office on January 19th, Shawn said.

The hearing officer will submit a recommendation to Casey, which could range from no action to permanent expulsion. Casey has discretion to accept all, none, or part of the hearing officer's recommendation, according to Shawn.

An administrative action was taken against a writer using the pen-name of Jac of Hearts, age 17, reportedly the son of a school administrator in Orange County. This action, settled by mutual consent, reportedly included a 10-day suspension. "That case is history as far as the school is concerned," Shawn said. "We resolved it in a manner that everybody was happy with."

Jac of Hearts authored the newsletter article officials found most offensive, calling on students to break rules.

Shawn said he did not know how long it would take for Casey to issue a decision regarding action against the editor.

Casey declined to comment.

Protesters of the arrest continued to picket through the end of last week at the entrance to the school. Some carried signs calling for the removal of principal George Will. Others -- including the young editor himself -- passed out yellow ribbons to students and others to wear in support.

Village police in the clear?

Former law-enforcement officers challenged the legality of a search conducted outside the jurisdiction of police. Whether the 17 year-old had authority to permit police to search his parents' bedroom in their absence, or to surrender property belonging to his father, is also in dispute.

Brennan questioned whether the action constituted a search under the law, though he said it was authorized by a "consent to search" form signed by the youth.

Shawn, who has experience as a criminal prosecutor, agreed.

"Before you can determine if a search is proper, you first have to determine if there was a search under the criminal procedure law," said Shawn.

The father of the young editor spoke to The River Reporter on January 17th with the condition he not be quoted until after the administrative hearing was held, stating he didn't want to prejudice the decision.

He quoted Schulman as having said he (Schulman) could not sue the village police department because "he said he has a conflict." The specific nature of Schulman's reported conflict could not be learned.

In the past, Schulman has held the posts of village justice and village attorney. He has a notice of claim of his own on file against the village for firing him as village attorney in April 1994. Schulman is also being sued in federal court, together with the police department and other present and past village officials, for ordering the arrest of five citizens at a village board meeting in August 1993 for holding up paper signs bearing such messages as "We love democracy."

Publicly, Schulman has explained his reason for excluding the police department from the threatened suit as being that the arrest of the young editor was initiated by the school district.

Schulman did not respond to two messages left at his office.

First Amendment implications

Goshen lawyer Steven Bergstein, who said his office has represented a number of clients on First Amendment cases, said authorities may be on tenuous legal ground in filing present charges. Newspapers published off school grounds, without public financial assistance, generally enjoy the same Constitutional protections as mainstream media, though school officials may restrict their circulation on campus.

Bergstein said he recently researched case law on the Inciting to Riot statute. "There has to be imminence for incitement. I can't imagine somebody being arrested on that charge for simple speech."

"If an angry mob is gathered in the street and you're egging them on, that's one thing," said Bergstein. "But not for writing in a newspaper."

Community reaction mixed

Reaction by district residents to news of the arrest has been mixed.

Linda Helfman of Monticello, owner of Joe Rota's Stationery Store on Broadway and mother of three school-age children, claimed most customers who express an opinion to her believe MHS authorities "are much too strict."

Helfman has copies of The Sub-Station taped behind the register and in the front window, with a sign asking "What do you think?" When a reporter entered the store, a customer and the Lotto cashier were engaged in lively discussion of the subject. Neither wished to be quoted.

"I think what they did was an invasion of the kid's freedom of speech," said Helfman. "They're lucky my kids aren't in the high school because I'd raise holy hell about it!"

Helfman added she agreed with most of the newspaper's gripes, though written in a juvenile and offensive style. "That's how kids talk. I don't think there's anything so terrible in there," she said.

Jens Meyer of Bethel, a retired Bronx police officer with grown children, on the other hand, said he wholeheartedly supports the actions taken by officials to bring discipline and order to MHS.

"There's no place in society for rebellious individuals like that. There's no telling what could have happened to the rest of the population if the school had taken up with what he was advocating," Meyer said. "My contention is these kids have such a beautiful school -- a gorgeous campus, like a college -- and they haven't got the decency to appreciate what's handed to them on a silver platter!"