Alexandria City High School journalists win national press freedom award
Theogony staff honored for months-long campaign against district censorship efforts
Student journalists at Alexandria City High School have won the 2025 Courage in Student Journalism Award, a national honor recognizing their fight against district attempts to impose prior review on their newspaper.
The Student Press Law Center and the National Scholastic Press Association announced the award Nov. 15 at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The honor, which includes a $1,000 prize, goes annually to student journalists who demonstrate exceptional determination in supporting press freedom despite resistance.
The Theogony staff drew scrutiny from Alexandria City Public Schools administrators after publishing investigative reports on district issues, including transportation delays and the removal of administrators. In response, district officials proposed updating student media policy to require approval for stories expected to generate a “high level of interest.”
The students called the proposal a path toward censorship. Working with the Student Press Law Center, they drafted an alternative policy called Voices Unbound, modeled after the national New Voices movement promoting student press protections.
When district staff rejected all 12 of their recommendations, the students launched a five-month advocacy campaign that drew support from national journalism organizations and coverage from The Washington Post and Nieman Journalism Lab.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized in our fight for editorial independence,” former co-editor James Libresco and current co-editor Rozalia Finkelstein said in a statement. “To those experiencing censorship, no matter how small you think it may be, let this be a call. Stand up and own your space.”
The Alexandria City School Board’s Governance Committee introduced a proposed policy this month that includes many of the students’ proposals.
The national recognition follows other recent honors for Theogony. On Nov. 14, the Virginia High School League awarded the newspaper its Trophy Class designation, the organization’s highest honor for student media. Libresco was named Virginia Student Journalist of the Year.
“Congratulations to Theogony’s Staff Adviser Kamilah Lawson for her guidance and a job well done,” the school district said in announcing the VHSL awards.
Libresco and Finkelstein credited Lawson and supporters, including the Student Press Law Center, FIRE, the National Scholastic Press Association, the Journalism Education Association, and the Society of Professional Journalists.
“These student journalists showed extraordinary courage and persistence by standing up to censorship from their school district,” said Gary Green, executive director of the Student Press Law Center.
The 2024-25 staff also included Casey Donahue, Julia Gwin, Pablo Cruz-Rivera, Max Carpenter, Nadja Duss, Maxwell Jones-Lachance, Isabel Shultz, Noah Sternberg, Leo Maucieri, Liam Brown, Imani Sanders, Christian Orrell, Arafat Somith and Michael Sweeney. Finkelstein and Gwin lead this year’s staff.