Ethics. If you have ever taken journalism class you should know what those are. Over the years journalists have pushed these "Codes of Practice" to the limits. Libel, slander, prior review, and bias are a few terms that should be very familiar to all journalists. It is important to know your boundaries as a reporter and even a designer in the journalism industry.

We so often think that our First Amendment rights allow us to do whatever we want, and that is definitely not the case. At Avon High School we have a very lenient administration that has never, in my years on staff, made use of prior review or had any problem with anything we publish.

I remember meeting two students this past summer at HSJI who had many problems cooperating with their administration and publishing things that were in any way controversial. I had a difficult time understanding why they weren’t allowed to publish what they wanted because I was so used to not having any limitations.

Although I know about these ethical rules, I have never had to put them into practice and they had lost importance in my eyes. But if pursuing journalism is a dream of yours, like it is mine, it is critical that you are well versed in ethics. Learning about it in high school is only the first step. A journalist is always aware of that line of ethics, and they make sure not to step over it.

I hope that we can start understanding these rules now so we practice them accurately in the future. We are lucky to have as much freedom in this industry as we do in our country, and these ethical rules are set in place to not only protect the public– but to protect journalists.