A Sacramento high school put its student advisor on paid administrative leave and was ordered to stay away from campus and students after a quote saying, 'Hitler had good ideas' was published in an issue recent, the Sacramento Bee reported last Wednesday. .
The development at CK McClatchy High School came after the student newspaper, The Prospector, included the anonymous quote among a series of nine “favorite” student responses to newspaper staff asking: “Have you ever heard anything thing while walking down the halls of school and thought, 'This is the strangest, most bizarre thing I've ever heard in my life?'”
Its inclusion in an issue last month sparked controversy among Jewish leaders in the community, one of whom said seeing the quote was a “gut punch.”
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The Sacramento school newspaper said the quote did not reflect his ideals or beliefs. (iStock)
“I'm sad that anyone can say that, clearly, but to say it without any information is horrible,” said Pam Herman, interim CEO of the Sacramento Area Jewish Federation, according to a local report.
The report also quotes a local mother who insisted that free speech is important, but that certain topics or quotes need to be put into context.
Outrage from community members led the superintendent to send out voice messages regarding the situation.
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Adolf Hitler delivers an impassioned speech at the opening of the Berlin International Auto Show. The student newspaper quoted an anonymous student as saying, “Hitler had good ideas,” sparking outrage among community members. (Hulton-Deutsch/CORBIS/Corbis Collection via Getty Images)
“We would first like to express that this quote does NOT reflect our ideals or beliefs; it was included to spark a conversation about how students here choose to use their words,” the newspaper said in a statement. .
The newspaper later issued a follow-up statement saying, “We believe that revealing the quote led to a much-needed conversation, but that the situation escalated into something we did not anticipate.”
The student journalists also said the decision to include the quote was an effort to highlight problematic things said without “appropriate action” by staff, and they also expressed remorse for the wording used in the column, according to the Bee report.
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Sacramento's CK McClatchy High School student newspaper was embroiled in controversy, but one commenter said it was not “advocating” the quote, but rather “quoting what the student said.” (Fox News)
Those who insist that the newspaper reserves the right to publish the quote are citing press freedom.
“They're not advocating it, they're just quoting what a student said,” said Steve O'Donoghue, director of the California Scholastic Journalism Initiative, according to the outlet.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Sacramento City Unified School District for additional comment but did not receive an immediate response. A district spokesperson told the Sacramento Bee, however, that he was unable to comment on a personnel matter.
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