LSN is always a fun part of Fridays; students get to relax and watch while enjoying the news and comedy of the show. But not everything students produce gets broadcasted.

In the last broadcast Admin cut an “offensive” segment of the show that asked teachers the meaning of some common teenage slang words. My immediate reaction to this editing was “Uh, was that really necessary?”

In life, we are often exposed to things that we disapprove of, make us uncomfortable, or offend us—that does not mean that we should try and aggressively remove any reference that could possibly offend someone.

The current process for removing content involves Admin watching the program with Dr. Butterworth and dictating what needs to be removed. Currently, this process is far too limited and fails to involve the students who make the show.

I understand that the school wants to be cautious about not offending anyone, but in reality, nearly anything on the show could be found “offensive” by someone. Admin should base their decisions about what is acceptable both by discussing it with the LSN staff, and considering what a reasonable person would think.

Oftentimes in classes, the “reasonable person test” is used to gauge whether or not a certain argument or idea is valid. In this case, using it to determine whether or not a reasonable student would be offended by content would be a good way to gauge if it should be aired on the show.

Admin should involve the students who create the show in the conversation about what’s acceptable to have on LSN. If there’s a reasonable dialogue between the students and Admin on what’s appropriate, Admin can expect more reasonable content and less work for them in the future.