ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040037
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
ACCORDING TO some legal beagles, the Virginia Supreme Court's decision in a case involving a high-school newspaper's quest for voting tallies in student elections won't appreciably affect the public's right to public information - the raison d'etre of the state's Freedom of Information Act.
We're not so sure. Common-sense application of the law could be weakened if the court upholds the Fairfax County school system's ludicrous excuse for keeping the election numbers a secret. The excuse: Release of the numbers might ``embarrass'' students who lose elections.
We don't worry that the State Board of Elections might decide against disclosing the full results of, say, next week's Republican primary election so as not to embarrass a vanquished U.S. Senate candidate. But if the high court sides with the school system in this case, it might encourage other government bureaucracies to think up equally poor reasons to circumvent freedom-of-information requirements.
Many government officials, as it is, need little encouragement. A favorite exercise is to contemplate and attempt absurd stretches of the law's ``exemptions'' to cover discussions and/or results that might embarrass officials.
On top of which, there is an educational consideration at stake.
Sorry if this hurts anyone's feelings, but this is how we see it: The purpose of education is not to protect or instill self-esteem. It is to transmit knowledge and skills and help develop potential - the achievement of which builds students' self-esteem.
If one of the purposes of student government is to prepare young people for self-government, it can't hurt to learn that votes are counted and publicized. Along with the secret ballot, this is a fundamental feature of how democracy works.
Indeed, there should be no shame in the arithmetical lesson that only one person can win a race for a single seat. We recall during our school days hearing something about: It's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game that counts. Besides which (to invoke another aphorism), if the kitchen is too hot, maybe they shouldn't enter. It's not as though students are forced to run for student council.
In the case the Supreme Court will hear today, Lucas Wall, editor-in-chief last year of the student newspaper at Centreville High School, brought a freedom-of-information suit challenging his school system's practice of deep-sixing vote tallies in student elections - releasing only winners' names.
Better to protect the tender egos and self-esteem of unelected kiddie politicians, reason the school officials. A Fairfax County judge supported the schools' position, equating election numbers to grades and other scholastic records that can be kept confidential.
Wall (with help from his father-attorney and freedom-of-information advocacy groups) appealed. Among other things, he argues that student-election results are more comparable to scores in interscholastic athletic contests, which are widely reported by the media.
We agree. If kids' egos can survive published and broadcast accounts of fumbles on the football field, they aren't likely to be demolished by public knowledge of voting margins. We hope the court doesn't fumble in its judgment of the intent and importance of the Freedom of Information Act.
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