Discovering the Power of the Press : Education: Student newspaper is making waves with its comments on subjects ranging from cafeteria food to ‘Beavis and Butt-head.’

Tired of writing boring articles about teachers and school officials, eighth-grade student Paul Houston decided that he wanted to do a story for the Anacapa Middle School newspaper that would truly interest his classmates.

So he penned a column defending the MTV show “Beavis and Butt-head.”

Although Paul hoped that his column might inspire responses from classmates, he hadn’t considered another group of potential readers of the Ventura school’s newspaper: parents.

Angered by the article, parents called the Anacapa principal to complain that Paul’s column implied that the school supports the controversial TV show. Some even threatened to take the matter to the school board.

“I didn’t think the parents would see it,” Paul said. “I just wrote what I felt.”

Paul and the rest of the staff of the Anacapa Title Waves have been making waves among parents and school officials since the first issue came out in October.

Although the school launched the newspaper to give pupils different kinds of writing experience, officials said the students are also getting lessons in some of the finer points of journalism, including the issues of censorship, privacy and fairness. And newspaper adviser Sharon Mittelholtz is becoming a quick study in the art of diplomacy between her muckrakers-in-training and the powers-that-be.

In the November issue, the same one that carried Paul’s column, eighth-grader Jennifer Woodman had an article that quoted students calling the school cafeteria lunches “greasy” and “gross.” That did not make the lunchroom manager happy.

Even the seemingly innocent personal ads in the back of the newspaper have stirred trouble.

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When the newspaper published a personal message that called for a boy named Matt to “dump” his girlfriend--who was named--because “she’s not good enough for you,” the girl’s parents phoned to complain. Now the newspaper staff screens personal ads more carefully and omits all last names.

In response to other complaints, Mittelholtz has had to do some quick damage control.

After she was told that Anacapa cafeteria manager Billie Hayes was distraught over the article criticizing the lunchroom fare, Mittelholtz made a quick trip across campus to assure Hayes that not all students shared the views of those quoted in Jennifer’s article.

But Hayes had a bigger concern than having her feelings hurt.

Just like other businesses that worry about bad press, Hayes was anxious about the bottom line.

Jennifer’s story could have spurred some students who regularly buy cafeteria food to begin bringing their lunches instead, Hayes said.

“They didn’t understand how much power there is in the press,” Hayes said about the eager young journalists.

Even Mittelholtz has been surprised by the controversy provoked by the paper. “It’s a lot easier to teach history,” said Mittelholtz, an English and history teacher who is making her first foray into teaching journalism.

Mittelholtz managed to smooth things over with the cafeteria staff by publishing follow-up interviews with Hayes and other school food-service workers pointing out that Anacapa has one of the most varied cafeteria menus in the Ventura Unified School District.

But Mittelholtz has become more cautious about what she will publish.

For the upcoming issue, due out at the end of this month, two reporters have penned articles denouncing a school proposal to get rid of student lockers.

When Mittelholtz showed one of the articles to Anacapa Principal Charlotte McElroy, the principal promptly visited the journalism class to explain the school’s reasons for the locker proposal.

The students who wrote the articles condemning the proposal say they now understand the school’s position better: Last year, the school received bomb threats, which proved false, warning about incendiary devices left in the lockers. And the 42-year-old locker stalls are falling apart.

But some newspaper staff still oppose the idea.

And Mittelholtz is concerned that if she prints their criticism, she risks offending McElroy. “There’s things that are worth battling over and this is isn’t one of them,” she said.

McElroy said she has no problem with eighth-grade reporters criticizing her decisions. “A lot of times, what they have to say might give me an idea I haven’t thought of.”

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She draws the line, however, at “Beavis and Butt-head.”

McElroy has read every Title Waves issue before it was photocopied in the school office and sold on campus for 25 cents apiece.

She said she approved the “Beavis and Butt-head” column because she thought that it was harmless banter among children. In the article, Paul concluded that: “If parents don’t want their kids to watch it, then make sure they don’t watch it.”

When alarmed parents alerted McElroy to the crude antics of the show’s title characters, the principal decided that the show is indeed harmful to children and ruled against any further stories on the subject.

McElroy said she was also concerned that parents’ complaints could lead school board members to clamp down on the newspaper.

Such control from above has caused some frustration from the newspaper’s writers: After his “Beavis and Butt-head” column was published, Paul wrote an article condemning censorship.

But the fear of reprisals hasn’t silenced the newspaper staff or led Mittelholtz to shy away from all potentially controversial issues.

In the most recent issue, reporter Chris Muirhead defends a video game called “Mortal Kombat,” which is so violent that some parents have complained to local video arcades.

“I wanted people to know about it and I wanted them to have their own opinions,” Chris said.

Not all Title Waves articles are contentious.

The newspaper also has an occasional fashion page with photographs of some of Anacapa’s trendiest dressers, standard news articles on school activities and student poetry.

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One of the most popular features is a coupon approved by the principal that entitles the bearer to a night free of homework in a particular class, such as math. “They sell better with the coupons,” said Joan Kim, an eighth-grade student who is one of two co-editors this semester.

Title Waves staff say one of the best things about their newspaper is that its writers know what subjects interest their classmates.

“They don’t want to hear about the national economy,” said Amrit Chima, a seventh-grader who was on the Title Waves staff last semester.

Or as eighth-grade reporter Trevor Dasnoit said: “This is more fun because kids your age wrote it.”