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Dom Giordano Talks To High School Newspaper Editor About Ban Of School Nickname

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Dom Giordano talked with Neshaminy High School student Reed Hennessey, who is also the sports editor of the school's newspaper, the Playwickian, on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT about the paper's decision not to publish the school's nickname, the Redskins.

Click below to listen to the podcast...

Neshaminy Sports Editor On Newspaper's Controversial Decision

Hennessey said the name is offensive and has no place in the newspaper.

"You have to take into account exactly what the effects of the name Redskin is. There are certainly local native residents that take offense to it, regardless of what you intend…the name itself has harmful psychological effects and really is the same as having it be the Neshaminy N-words," he stated.

He claims the paper's staff has the right to take a stand against something they feel is wrong.

"As student editors, Pennsylvania has a very clear PA state code, 12.9, that protects student press rights, saying they may act free as editors at any newspaper as long as it's not disruptive to the educational process. We haven't done anything that disrupts the educational process. We just editorialized our newspaper. We've made a policy that says will not print anything that racially offensive," Hennessey explained.

The Neshaminy School Board will vote tomorrow on whether to stop the ban against the school's nickname. Lawyers for the school district contend that ending the ban protects students' right to freedom of speech.

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