Protecting the First Amendment has been a focus on the Indiana High School Press Association (IHSPA) for quite some time. IHSPA holds the First Amendment symposium annually. The event is meant to educate people about First Amendment rights and to emphasize their importance.

This year’s event also included discussion of House Bill 1130. The bill is protects student journalists from any form of censorship that may occur with their administrators.

The event was held March 14 in the Indiana State House.

Student journalists spoke about the first amendment’s importance to them, one being junior Carolina Puga-Mendoza, who spoke about her experience being an immigrant.

“Carolina’s speech was so uplifting because I can relate to the struggle that immigrants face,” junior Hannah Nguyen said.

Awards for photography and stories were also given. Yearbook student and junior Hannah Nguyen’s football photos received first place.

“I was honestly shocked that I placed first in my category because this is my first year in publications,” Hannah Nguyen said.

Live tweets from the event can be found at: and more information on the IHSPA can be found here.