The Daily Sentinel: FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), a non-partisan national organization dedicated to protecting free speech, has contacted Mesa County Valley School District 51 to dispute Grand Junction High School’s reassignment of Steve Fox, the former adviser of the Orange and Black student newspaper.

FIRE Student Press Counsel Marie McMullan sent a letter to D51 Superintendent Brian Hill on July 14, expressing concern about reports that Fox was removed from his role over the paper’s coverage, citing student journalists’ calls to reverse Fox’s reassignment.

Per the letter, on May 14, GJHS Principal Jory Sorensen and Assistant Principal Jared Burek met with Fox, informing him that he was being assigned to a new role and would no longer be the O&B’s adviser, citing “complaints about the publication from a lot of stakeholders.” Per FIRE, Sorensen raised concerns about recruiting and class size and “made vague assertions about students feeling unequal in the class but did not expound on those concerns in a follow-up meeting or in writing.”

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