Mike Simons, adviser of Tesserae Yearbook in Corning, N.Y. and president of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Advisers’ Association, will be the keynote speaker Oct. 28 at the Garden State Scholastic Press Association’s Fall Press Day at Rutgers University’s Busch Campus Center.

Registration starts at 8:30 a.m., and the keynote presentation and workshop sessions begin at 9 a.m. Cost is $20 per student and $50 per adviser, which includes a one-year GSSPA membership. For more information, visit this brochure, and to register, fill out this Google Form by Oct. 19.

Simons is a leader in New York’s efforts to pass New Voices legislation, which would clarify and protect First Amendment rights of student journalists in the state, and the GSSPA is advocating for a similar New Jersey bill which was passed by unanimous vote in the state’s Senate Education Committee in June and is expected to reach the Senate floor this fall. Simons’ session will be titled, “They’re Your Stories. If You Won’t Tell Them, Who Will?” and will serve as a call to action for student journalists.

Other sessions will be be led throughout the day by scholastic newspaper and yearbook advisers and by professional journalists, and the student journalist-led roundtable sessions will return this year. Each school also may choose one student to participate in a write-off contest and compose a story based on the keynote session.

The GSSPA reveals all winners from its summer yearbook, and print and online publication contests at Fall Press Day.

For more information, please contact us at [email protected].

Our Fall Press Day turns 40 this year! @msimons is keynote speaker as we advocate for @newvoicesnj legislation and engage in workshops all day. Find more info or register here and we’ll start the gradual process of rolling out our awards finalists tonight!https://t.co/TX1PEHLdE4

— GSSPA (@GSSPA) September 2, 2019