Published: November 1, 1991

The Big Chill

When the students at Northrop High School opened the June 5, 1990, issue of their school newspaper, the center pages were blank, except for the words: "This is not a printer's error.''

Those six words took the place of a controversial two-page article written by Jeff Lovell, editor of What's Bruin? Lovell had uncovered evidence documenting theft by a school coach at the Fort Wayne, Ind., high school. But before the paper containing the story went to press, principal H. Douglas Williams censored it.

Lovell had initially set out to write an article about the cost of the spring sports program. But the story shifted focus after Lovell reviewed the budget of the girls' tennis team. He became suspicious when he found that the participants were charged $65 in fees to play tennis on the courts at the coach's apartment complex; Lovell interviewed the apartment manager and learned that there was no charge for the...