I would like to present an urgent matter to the people of Coweta and its surrounding counties regarding the Coweta County student publication policy. The current policy is the second most restrictive in the state.

I am the proud editor of Coweta’s first and only home-school newspaper, the Eluminatus Courant. My staff and I would like to see the current policy revised.

We want our fellow public-schooled student journalists to enjoy the same liberties with their student publications as we do with ours. Many students and adults feel that the policy hinders the students’ First Amendment rights. Our proposed revision is a relaxed version of the current policy.

I have tried to contact our superintendent, Blake Bass, and our seven board members twice regarding the policy. After two months, only two have responded. We are currently circulating a petition.

Our goal is to accumulate as many signatures as possible and draft a revision modeled after Cherokee County’s JHCC policy. After all the signatures have been collected, the petition and the proposed revision will be brought before the Coweta County Board of Education.

We currently have two types of petitions circulating. One is on paper and the other is an online petition. We feel we can reach an even greater number by taking our cause to the Internet.

If you would like to check out or sign the online petition, please go to www.ipetitions.com/petition/Coweta. We have enabled a password to add to the credibility of the petition. The password is Coweta. Every citizen of Coweta and its surrounding counties can sign our petition.

The signatures and comments we have collected from students at Newnan High School have been extremely encouraging. According to the 14th Amendment, students are citizens of the United States regardless of age. Any citizen is welcome to sign and we appreciate the support.

Miranda Sain

msain1 (at) student.gsu.edu