Student Publications

The student publications were diverse and numerous. There was Vanguard, Gadfly,  Streams of Conscience, and a Science Fiction Club publication. Later on there was the feminist publication, Firefly, The Dewey Classic, On the D and Dewey To It. The students of John Dewey High School were active and vocal. There was an online publication from John Dewey High School called The Dewey Current. The Dragon's Den is the current online newspaper of John Dewey High School.

Rabbi Bonnie Koppell Here's my recollection- We published an edition of the magazine that included a story by Donald Margulies, in which he used the f**k word maybe 2x in a non-sexual context. Principal Sol Levine confiscated the entire run on the grounds that it was "obscene." John Dewey HS was very much in the public eye, and the ACLU called to ask me- "Do you know your rights?" They agreed to take the case. My favorite moment was when Judge Jack B. Weinstein said, "My role here is not to question the good sense of the NYC Board of Education, which, with all its enormous problems, chooses to devote itself to the suppression of this fine example of student literature." Clearly a good judge of literary merit- as has been noted, @Donald Margulies went on to a successful literary career including a Pulitzer Prize. After the court case, we came back to school in the fall and quietly distributed Streams of Conscience

Brett Woods Gary Silverman This also created huge discord at our school newspaper, THE JOHN DEWEY HIGH SCHOOL VANGUARD. The editor wanted the headline to read LEVINE TO STUDENT PRESS: GET THE F*CK OUT. Our faculty advisor, Mrs. Gorayeb (sp?) wouldn't allow it.