On April 5, 1986, 19-year-old Jeanne Clery was asleep in her dorm room at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Another student broke into her room, tortured, raped and killed her. Her killer had entered the building through a door that was supposed to be locked but was propped open. Jeanne's parents found out after her death that there had been 181 reports of doors propped open in her building in the four months before her murder and that students had not been told about multiple violent crimes on campus over the past few years.
Author: Caitlin Wells
Sweeping under rugs
Sexual assault is a serious cause for concern at any university, and when student athletes are involved, the cases can cause a media sensation. Recent developments in an assault case involving two former football players at the University of Iowa in Iowa City have caused more than the usual furor.
Shining a light on campus politics
This spring, banners and signs will adorn campuses. Students will stand behind tables around campus, handing out fliers and trying to convince passersby that their candidate is the best for the job.
Student reporters arrested in protests at conventions
Hundreds of protesters were arrested in Denver, Colo., and St. Paul, Minn., during the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, respectively, this fall. However, these mass arrests managed to snare student and professional reporters with the protesters.
April Fools’ Day editions are no joke
April 1 is traditionally a day for practical jokes like changing your friend's MySpace picture, stuffing the toes of your sibling's shoes with socks or resetting your roommate's alarm clock to 5 a.m. Many high school and college newspapers also jump into the act, publishing an April Fools' Day issue to skewer school policies and poke fun at the news they cover seriously for the other 364 days of the year.
Two Thumbs UP: Uncoding the redactions
Editors of the Eastern Progress, student newspaper for Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky., scored a victory for open records in an appeal to the Kentucky attorney general that challenged the university's redaction of information from campus police reports.
Education department rules UVA former policy incorrectly interpreted FERPA
The Department of Education found that a formerpolicy at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., incorrectlyinterpreted the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and violatedthe Clery Act by requiring student victims of sexual assault to abide byconfidentiality agreements.
ACLU, SPLC file lawsuit against Calif. high school over canceled student newspaper
Lawyers for the Student Press Law Center and theAmerican Civil Liberties Union are filing a lawsuit on behalf of students and ateacher at Fallbrook High School in Fallbrook, Calif., claiming that the schoolviolated their First Amendment rights by canceling the journalism class andremoving the adviser.
Penn State photographer faces misdemeanor charges after covering riot for school paper
A photographer for the Pennsylvania State University Daily Collegian has been ordered to appear in court Dec. 10 to face misdemeanor charges after covering a riot in downtown University Park, Pa.,* in October.
Daily Nebraskan resolves issues over open records requests with university
A recent dispute that had the University ofNebraska-Lincoln's administration giving the silent treatment to the DailyNebraskan, the school's newspaper, may have been resolved.