Using names in today’s story: Was it necessary?
by Extra.Credit
There has been an approximately five-fold increase this year in restraining orders sought by Santa Rosa City Schools against violent students – and all five came in the first seven weeks of school. In the course of reporting the story, there was discussion about whether or not we should, or needed to, name the staffers who sought protection.
The discussions were prompted in part by one employee’s request not to be named.
There were questions of whether using the names would re-victimize this person or put people in further danger. There was talk of whether using the names changes what is important in the story: Are school employees safe doing their job? What is going on with a student that would make him/her behave this way?
Are the names attached to these incidents important in the telling of those stories or the examination of those questions?
It was argued that the students who attacked these professionals know their names, so to print it in a newspaper story doesn’t put them in further danger.
The descriptions of what they went through are laid out in public documents. Court proceedings were held to determine that a real threat existed. These cases were not made in secret and we did not learn the information by way of a leak or via a promise of confidentiality.
At the community level, if you read the story and know the people affected, doesn’t that make it more real to you? Might that inspire a greater interest in what it takes to be a teacher or assistant principal or campus supervisor today? The staffers did nothing to deserve what they got, but maybe they deserve a larger conversation about school safety and maybe that conversation happens because you know them.
On a human level, there was consideration for how these staffers feel, having been beaten by students and then having that story told publicly. After all, we are not running the names of the students because they are minors.
Therein lies a secondary discussion.
We know their names because they are listed in the petition for a restraining order. But school officials, bound by confidentiality laws, won’t discuss the students and law enforcement and juvenile hall won’t either. So we don’t know if these students were arrested, charged or expelled.
Without knowing what charges, if any, these students are facing, it was decided not to override this newspaper’s traditional policy not to run the names of minors involved in criminal complaints unless the crime in question was particularly heinous or the juvenile was to be tried as an adult.
In the end, the decision to run the names of the school employees came down to a simple statement: It’s what we do. It’s what a newspaper does – we report the news, create an historical record and put in as much information as we can to create a complete picture.
That said, it’s not easy when you report abuse. That is why I asked the question: Is this necessary? I know some of these teachers and staffers and I work with them. Most of them were not happy I came calling on this one. There was worry that one incident would paint an incomplete picture of their campus, give people a negative and false impression.
But to me, the story is bigger than a single staffer’s name or a single campus or a single incident. After all, these assaults occurred at four different schools throughout the city. The focus shouldn’t be a staffer’s name or where they work, but what is going on that incites the kind of violence these four students showed.
And whether or not school staffers are safe doing their jobs.
Extra Credit by Press Democrat education reporter Kerry Benefield is your place for daily school news and conversation. Send items to 
A friend of mine, a long-time Spanish teacher in an East L.A, school, was beaten by a group of 14- & 15-year old female students, cousins and friends of a 14-y.o. student of hers who fancied herself ‘dissed’ by my friend. That resulted in years of medical problems and ongoing stress. She was finally able to transfer to another school, where another ‘dissed’ student threw my friend down a flight of stairs, resulting in still more years of medical problems, multiple surgeries, permanent physical impairment, and stress.
Leaving aside for the moment that those who complain about being disrespected usually have no respect for others, this teacher, who has spent her teaching career imparting knowledge to and providing experiential learning experiences for her students, never dissed anyone.
Bottom line: if you’re old enough to do the crime, you’re old enough to be named in the media reports about your actions. There are youths and teens who demonstrate good sense, who choose to do right instead of wrong, just as there are adults who do not. By the time you’re in high school, you’re old enough to know that aggression and violence is not appropriate – there are far too many kids from identical backgrounds who do not resort to violence and mayhem for upbringing, socio-economics and cultural environment to be used as an excuse.
Informing teachers of these students, and publicly identifying violent and aggressive students, does not bar these students from a second chance. The only thing that does so is the way they choose to act in the future.
by Melissa
I think it was the right call to publish the names and positions of the assault victims as their identities are already well known in those schools, and to not publish the names would have led to speculation and false rumors about who they were. Also, these staffers deserve support from their peers, from parents and from students, and they have nothing to be ashamed of. They were attacked by thugs who are now being punished.
I do wonder about the practicality of a restraining order in a school setting where the student continues to attend classes and the staffer continues to do their job too.
by Id
I think physically assaulting school staff IS a heinous crime, therefore worthy of naming the names of the suspects. Protecting the identity of these criminal youths needs to take a back seat to protecting the rest of us. We need to know who we’re dealing with and it’s not right that we continue to coddle and protect minors who have proven that they do not deserve ANY consideration from society.
by Dave R
This was an excellent article. It was way overdue in terms of letting the public know what is going on in their kids’ schools. Hiding the facts and pretending everything is fine when it is not is the wrong thing to do. In order for the public to have an appreciation of what teachers and administrators go through on a daily basis it is necessary to provide facts, including the names and positions of staff members and the type of assaults they endured. It is also very helpful to know the size of these “kids”. I often hear comments from friends to the effect of ‘they’re only 14′ or ‘he’s only a sophomore’. Let me tell you, there are a lot of middle and high school kids who can lick most adults on campus. When a 6 foot 180 pound “kid” clocks you, you’re in a fight, not a campus disturbance. My only complaint about the article is that you didn’t name the punks.
by Excellent Article Kerry
Poor taste all the way around. If you won’t publish the name of the suspect, then keep the victims name out of the article. I’ll bet you wouldn’t publish the name of some copy writer who got a restraining order from some body on the loading docks at the PD would you? Somebody that you’d have to look at everyday at work and see the pain and suffering you made them go through. Just have some common decency in today’s world for a change.
by RP Arbuckle
Was it necessary to print a picture of Piner kids on the front page – kids who did nothing wrong? Another slam on Piner, a school just as safe as all the other campuses in town, but with the misfortune of having the PD constantly find aways to slam them. If you are going to start writing about everything that goes wrong on school campuses, include all the campuses. The AP at Piner was trying to help a girl and it was after school hours. I am grateful that administrators like him are around!
by Piner Parent
I remeber Ernie Joiner of the Sebastopol Times. He always published the names including the mayor’s son when caught trying to steal a used car transmission in Santa Rosa.
By the way Ernie, in case your still up there listening, Jerry Brown is appparently not a homosexua.
by Jody Hampton
Most people who read the paper do so casually, allowing first impressions based largely on photographs, captions, and the initial paragraphs to determine what they take from the story. In this regard, Piner takes another hit on all fronts. Is the story really going to facilitate an outpouring of practical support for educators who will continue to work with young people at these schools? Probably not. However, I’m willing to bet the story will play a role in keeping at least one family in Piner’s attendance area from attending next year. In an open enrollment district, public perception plays a significant role in shaping overall school environment. Open enrollment has significantly changed the socioeconomic make up of Santa Rosa secondary campuses. Perhaps this is a larger issue worth pursuing, not the isolated violent acts that can perhaps be explained by any number of other causes.Violence in schools is nothing new. The myriad challenges educators face in trying to make a difference in the lives of students extend far beyond an isolated case of violence. Come tutor struggling students; find practical ways to support teachers; advocate for programs that effectively provide healthy alternatives to troubled adolescents. Then we might be convinced that your primary goal is to help the schools about which you wrote. I see little in the article that will have a positive impact on school environment.
by Steve
I know Kerry and respect her work, but she and the P.D. got it wrong this time. The story would have been as informative with the sites mentioned and no names. Justifications abound in this article. Bottom line is these folks were victimized again by the need to sell papers. Perhaps the offenders should named and let the victims be victims.
by Marlene
it was a great article…the reporter’s only fault was not asking the judges: how in the world can you have a restraining order on a student at a crowded school? If the situation is so bad that the kids must have a RSO, then why aren’t they transferred to another school or just plain expelled?
by observing