About

Mission:

The Vandegrift Voice was created to provide just that – a voice for our student body. The Voice is an open forum for student expression and ideas. We welcome – in fact, we encourage – letters to the editor and guest opinion articles from students, parents, faculty and administration.

As a staff, we stand behind the First Amendment rights of all citizens, including high school students. We agree with the New York Times organization: “Social responsibility is at the root of every facet our organization. It is most evident in our dedication to the highest standards of quality journalism.” We act ethically and responsibly, but we also don’t shy away from covering issues that may be sensitive, controversial or unpopular.

The Voice staff, yearbook staff, and the photojournalism program provide the material for the website, and www.vandegriftvoice.com is an ongoing collaborative project by the students for the students. We seek to constantly update The Voice with information and articles that we feel are of interest to our audience. The website functions as both a service to the public as well as an educational tool for the staff.

As journalism students, we believe that “democracy . . . demands that we find a place and make time in the school curriculum and budget for real education about the real challenges of living in a diverse and free society. It demands community and government environments where a commitment to free expression and religious liberty is valued. It demands that we sometimes celebrate a disorderly ‘marketplace of ideas’ — in town meetings as well as school classrooms” (Gene Policinski, First Amendment Center Vice President/Executive Director).

Vandegrift High School is not a prior-review school, and all content in the paper is decided on by The Voice staff, under the guidance of a faculty adviser. Opinions expressed in The Voice are not necessarily the opinions of the district, administration, staff or student body.

All letters to the editor must be signed.

In accordance with free speech rulings, The Voice does not print unprotected speech, including but not limited to libelous material, material that is obscene to minors, material that would cause a substantial disruption to the school day, and material that constitutes an invasion of privacy.

Contact us: If you would like to contact the Voice newspaper staff please email Jessica Stamp, adviser, at [email protected].

Awards, Honors, & Accolades:

ILPC Bronze Star 2023-2024

CSPA Silver Crown Award 2022-2023

ILPC Award of Honor 2022-2023

CSPA Silver Crown Award 2021-2022

ILPC Bronze Star 2021 – 2022

ILPC Award of Distinguished Merit 2020 – 2021

ILPC Bronze Star 2019 – 2020

ILPC Award of Distinguished Merit 2019 – 2020

SNO Distinguished Site 2020

ILPC Bronze Star 2018 – 2019