Purpose

The purpose of The Pulse, Syosset High School’s newspaper, is to as accurately as possible report the 24 hour day life of students, staff, and faculty during the school year in words and photographs in a contemporary design package. Its primary functions include being 1) a journalistic publication, 2) a historical record, and 3) a forum for student expression. As such, content should reflect areas of student interest, including topics about which there may be dissent or controversy. It is the policy of the school that the students have the ultimate right to determine the content of student publications within the limits outlined below.

Responsibilities of Student Journalists

Students who work on an official student publication will:

1. Rewrite materials, as required by the adviser and editors to improve sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
2. Check and verify all facts and verify the accuracy of quotations.
3. Strive at all times to maintain the highest possible standards in quality of writing, research, and demeanor.

Prohibited Material

Students cannot publish or distribute material that is considered:

1. Libelous, defined as a false and unprivileged statement about a specific individual, which could injure the individual’s reputation in the community.
2. Obscene, defined as the following:
   • The publication depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct.
   • Vocabulary which when read by the average person, would be judged as profane, such as using a religious figure’s name profanely or words describing sexual or biological functions in an offensive fashion.
3. Disruptive to the school, defined as student rioting, widespread boisterous conduct, or substantial student participation in a school boycott, sit-in, stand-in, walk-out or other related form of activity. Material that stimulates heated discussion or debate does not constitute the type of disruption prohibited.