ILLINOIS — The lawsuit of three student journalists against Governors State University was damaged in November when a federal trial court judge ruled that three of the four administrators named in the suit qualified for immunity as government actors.
\nEditor Jeni Porche, managing editor Margaret Hosty and writer Steven Barba allege school officials exercised prior restraint in violation of the First Amendment when they ordered The Innovator‘s printer not to publish any issue unless an administrator had seen it first.
\nAdministrators also locked the student editors out of the newspaper office, denied them access to equipment and supplies, and refused to fully pay them, the complaint alleges.
\nDean of Student Affairs and Services Patricia Carter, the only administrator not granted immunity by the trial court, has appealed the decision.
\nThe student journalists are representing themselves at the appellate level. Hosty said the university has been without a newspaper for 18 months.
\nCase: Hosty v. Governors State Univ., 2001 WL 1465621 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 15, 2001)