Our Right to Know: Julia Roeder
The teen editor who took on a Michigan school board official with public records requests.
By Sydney Sims
From an early age, Julia Roeder remembers being enamored with journalism.
“I used to wake up as a little kid at seven in the morning getting ready for school to watch the TODAY show,” Roeder said “I’ve always had such an awe for the courageous people in the press.”
By the time she was entering her freshman year of high school at Grosse PointeSouth in Michigan, she took a journalism class that would allow her to write for The Tower, the student-led, independent news publication.
Roeder took a liking to the buzz of the newsroom pretty quickly. Now editor-in-chief, she also interned at the Detroit Free Press.
It was in the high school newsroom that she first received a tip about then-school board Vice President Ahmed Ismail’s alleged efforts to push out two school administrators in the district. He later became board president.
The Tower adviser provided feedback as she filed 15 specific requests after getting a few denials. And that’s how she connected to the Student Press Law Center to help get the records she needed for her article.
“I called the SPLC hotline,” she said. “I talked to some really great lawyers there, and they guided me through what the process would look like to appealing what language to use with that, and then the next steps after getting denied.”
Though she decided not to proceed with a lawsuit, Roeder – was able to obtain a two-page summary of the Board’s investigation, It’s a small win for the work she says taught her the importance of holding people in place of power accountable.
Ismail “emphatically” denied the accusation that he attempted to oust administrators and has stepped down from the school board.
“I’ve learned so much about the local government doing this beat that I actually feel very fortunate,” she said. “I’ve learned the importance of holding those in government accountable, whether that’s through reaching out to an elected official or FOIA-ing their work that they’re doing in their position.”
The Student Press Law Center and the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project honored Roeder with the 2024 Student Freedom of Information Award.
