BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
A Santa Clara County judge sided Wednesday (Oct. 21) with a journalism advisor and student reporters in their lawsuit that alleges the Mountain View High School principal censored an article about sexual harassment.
Judge Eunice Lee denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit by Principal Kip Glazer and the Mountain View Los Altos High School District. The case is now headed for a trial on Nov. 23.
Former advisor Carla Gomez and student reporters Hanna Olson and Hayes Duenow are claiming that Glazer pushed them to censor the article and reassigned Gomez in retaliation for the article being published in spring 2023.
In response, Glazer said parents complained about the article accusing their son of sexual harassment. They were scared that their son would attempt suicide if the article was published, Glazer said.
So Glazer visited the class and asked to get an advanced copy of the students’ newspaper. She said she was “shocked” to read the article accuse multiple students of serious crimes, including harassment, stalking and attempted rape.
“Even more concerning was that each of the accused students were easily identifiable,” she said.
Glazer met with students a second time and told them the article could have “disastrous consequences.”
She said she is responsible for the health and safety of all students, including the accused.
“I do not regret my actions in trying to educate, lead and guide the student journalists,” she said.
The student paper, the Oracle, published the article on March 30, 2023.
The article detailed several instances of male students sending inappropriate and unwanted messages to other students, including unsolicited nude photos.
Zachary Morris, the drama teacher who replaced Gomez, said he was surprised when Glazer offered him the advisor position a month later. He didn’t ask for the job and hadn’t worked in journalism before.
Gomez, Olson and Duenow sued Glazer and the school district in February 2024 with support from the Student Press Law Center.
The students gave 11 examples of information they changed in the article after meeting with Glazer. Glazer allegedly pressured them to take out sexually explicit messages and references to the school failing to hold sexual harassers accountable.
• June 5, 2023 — Opinion: School administrators should back off student newspaper
• Oct. 9, 2023 — High school threatened with lawsuit over allegations it censored student journalists
• Sept. 3, 2026 — In court statement, principal denies censoring high school paper
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