As most of our readers know, The Register spent the first weeks of its year in a First Amendment battle. With our time as an editing team coming to an end, it only seems appropriate that we reflect. To avoid repetition, I’ll leave out the details.

All you need to know is we were censored, then “uncensored”, fell under the imposition of prior review, then created a fresh, New Voices-friendly student media policy.

One result of our efforts was a lot of time in the spotlight: local, statewide, national, and of course we can’t forget that one paper in New Zealand. We were used to being on the interviewing side of the mic, but this fall we found ourselves as the interviewees. It was a little unnatural, but we realized this was an opportunity to learn from the best while defending our rights.

While fellow journalists gave us a voice, we were able to take note of interviewing tactics, writing styles, and even get a few story leads. We discovered that a journalism community we did not know existed already had our backs, and these journalists were doing everything they could to lift us up, tell our story, and protect freedom of the press. They helped us network, and they readily responded to any email or call we sent them.

Without the support of both the journalism and the Burlington community, we would not be publishing this final issue for the 2018-19 school year. The editors would like to specifically thank Mike Donoghue, the Student Press Law Center, and every single media source that shared our story. We hope you enjoy this year’s final peek at the stories that move BHS.

-The Editors