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On Thursday, March 9, a Wando High School student called the Moultrie News desperate for answers as to why a student video production had been tabled.

Valeria Hughen, one of the anchors for Wando's school news show, Tribe Talk, said that last week's Tribe Talk episode had been pulled by Principal Sherry Eppelsheimer.

"We uploaded the episode onto Youtube yesterday afternoon, and this morning, before airing, an administrator was sent to tell us to completely remove it and that no teacher will be airing the episode due to an issue with one of our pieces," Hughen explained.

Like her classmates and fellow production crew members, Hughen wanted to know, "If it was only one piece they had an issue with, why was the whole episode to be taken down?"

She said they tried to address the situation with administrators but received very little response.

However, when contacted, Charleston County School District spokesman Andy Pruitt explained that the district's legal counsel was contacted by Wando High School Principal Sherry Eppelsheimer to inquire whether legal or other issues were raised by a plan to broadcast a student-produced video.

"The report by Tribe Talk addressed the subject of the rights of transgender students to use the bathroom for the gender with which they identify. Broadcasting the story into required classes for all grades raised questions that Dr. Eppelsheimer felt the need to address with counsel for the district," he said.

Hughen's concern was that the Tribe Talk episode was a follow-up to one on this same subject, with the same student in question, that had already aired.

All Tribe Talk episodes are student produced with little oversight from advisers other than training on equipment and technique.

Pruitt said that Eppelsheimer primarily wanted to ensure the student report was consistent with any limitations set forth in state law.

"Specifically, attention was drawn to the South Carolina Comprehensive Health Education Act, which places strict limitations on what can be discussed in certain classes. Legal counsel determined that the story was not related to health education. All issues have been resolved, and the video will be broadcast," he said.

The video can be found online atthttp://bit.ly/2n1thhx.

See the article here:
Temporary censorship a precaution by Wando principal - Moultrie News