On Feb. 24, Marshall was selected as a First Amendment Press Freedom Award winner for the first time. Marshall joins two other Fairfax County schools, McLean and Chantilly, among the 17 recipients nationally. Three FCPS schools winning this award out of 17 nationwide shows the strength of freedom of expression and student journalism in Fairfax County schools.
This recognition is a testament to the privileges and freedoms our school administration grants our journalism program and school as a whole. It is also a major recognition for the work that goes into our yearbook, literary magazine, newsmagazine and gcmnews.net website.
Not every school enjoys the freedoms we do at Marshall. Over the past several years, I have been able to speak with other journalism students and leaders across the country, many of whom struggle with prior review and conflict with their school leadership. We are appreciative of the cooperation and help we receive from Principal Litz and the school administration, without which this award would not be possible.

Theo Schmidt
Editor in Chief
Rank&File