Dominic Plata is the Editor-In-Chief of the Fidelity yearbook of Lakeridge High School in Mansfield, Texas. In conjunction with the communications team, Plata works alongside Catharine Li, Krista Fleming, and Nyla Smith to share pertinent information concerning New Voices in a timely, accessible manner. 

“New Voices is a way to protect my peers and I’s rights when it comes to student journalism.”

What I Do

As a Communications & Social Media specialist of New Voices Texas, I work alongside our Communications Officer and act as a liaison between the staff of New Voices Texas, the student population of the state, and any Texas lawmakers that will hear our cause. I will provide support to reaching those informed and less informed on the importance of laws protecting the rights of student journalists.

I am responsible for collaborating with officers in making efforts to reach our peers across the state. Through this collaboration, ideas will be shared and a common ground to reach our fullest potential will be established. As well as providing thoughts and opinions regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, and any other personal identifications, we strive to encompass an equal and just system, and will create credibility through each of our own, unique,  experiences.

I will use my position as a specialist by providing support and aiding incoming officers to reach anyone who will listen about the importance of student press rights, the lack thereof, and issues that arise from this. I’ll do this by reaching into social media spaces such as Instagram stories and Twitter posts, as well as creating graphics and other media resources to engage our audience. I hope by utilizing online spaces students use on a daily basis, we can generate a following that is able to establish a voice loud enough to reach lawmakers.

By the end of the school year, I hope to have reached my peers and ensured our voices are heard in the Texas Legislature’s 2023 session. There are countless stories to be told concerning the rights of student journalists who wished to investigate, understand, and inform their peers; however, they were silenced because of a lack of rights protecting them. I want to prevent this from happening ever again.