NEBRASKA — In September, Jessica Mathieu, a senior at North Platte High School, in southwest Nebraska, stole a Confederate flag from another student’s pickup truck parked in the school parking lot. She posted a video on social media acknowledging that she had stolen the flag, saying, “I know what I did was wrong, but what you’re doing is worse. You’re making people at your school feel like they’re not welcome.”
Category: News
Illinois has a law protecting student press freedom, so why is censorship still happening?
ILLINOIS — In 2016, Illinois passed the Speech Rights of Student Journalists Act, which protects student journalists at public schools from censorship by their administration. But the language in the law does not protect advisers from retaliation over news stories their students produce. Those protections were initially part of HB 5902, but were stripped from… Continue reading Illinois has a law protecting student press freedom, so why is censorship still happening?
HBCU newspaper editors tell us about their work and the significance of Black student journalists reporting Black news (Part 3— North Carolina A&T State University’s The A&T Register)
Q&A with Jarod Hamilton, the editor-in-chief of North Carolina A&T State University's The A&T Register Interview by Alexis Mason, Outreach and Operations Manager at the Student Press Law Center In honor of Black History Month, SPLC is celebrating the rich history of student journalism at historically Black colleges and universities by conducting a series of Q&A… Continue reading HBCU newspaper editors tell us about their work and the significance of Black student journalists reporting Black news (Part 3— North Carolina A&T State University’s The A&T Register)
HBCU newspaper editors tell us about their work and the significance of Black student journalists reporting Black news (Part 2— Florida A&M University The Famuan)
Q&A with Ariyon Dailey, the editor-in-chief of Florida A&M University’s The Famuan Interview by Alexis Mason, Outreach and Operations Manager at the Student Press Law Center In honor of Black History Month, SPLC is celebrating the rich history of student journalism at historically Black colleges and universities by conducting a series of Q&A interviews with editor-in-chiefs… Continue reading HBCU newspaper editors tell us about their work and the significance of Black student journalists reporting Black news (Part 2— Florida A&M University The Famuan)
Nebraska high school censors student editorial about censorship, and journalism adviser resigns
UPDATE: On Feb. 12, the administration at Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska censored a student editorial about censorship. The same day, one of the Westside journalism advisers resigned. This came shortly after Westside student journalists testified on Jan. 29 for a bill that would have prevented this censorship. On Feb. 10, District 66 Superintendent… Continue reading Nebraska high school censors student editorial about censorship, and journalism adviser resigns
HBCU newspaper editors tell us about their work and the significance of Black student journalists reporting Black news (Part 1: Morgan State Spokesman)
In honor of Black History Month, SPLC is celebrating the rich history of student journalism at historically Black colleges and universities by conducting a series of Q&A interviews with editor-in-chiefs from three HBCUs: Morgan State University, Florida A&M University, and North Carolina A&T State University.
SCOTUS agrees to hear B.L v. Mahanoy Area School District, calling student’s off-campus First Amendment rights into question
UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a Pennsylvania public high school student who was punished by her school after she cursed her cheer team on Snapchat on a Saturday night while off campus. Legal experts and educators have watched the case, B.L. v. Mahanoy closely — the high court's… Continue reading SCOTUS agrees to hear B.L v. Mahanoy Area School District, calling student’s off-campus First Amendment rights into question
Lawsuit against UNC for the release of campus sexual assault records officially ends in favor of student journalists
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled University of North Carolina must hand over student, faculty, and staff rape, sexual assault, and sexual misconduct records requested by the university's student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel.
Court one step closer to making WWU release names of sexual misconduct perpetrators to student journalists
WASHINGTON — Western Washington University refused to release the names of students guilty of sexual misconduct in Title IX records they sent to student journalists at The Western Front. But in an October 22 court decision, a Whatcom County judge sided with student journalists, saying the law doesn’t protect the names of students guilty of… Continue reading Court one step closer to making WWU release names of sexual misconduct perpetrators to student journalists
UVM hires new adviser without student media’s input; adviser threatens editor’s job
VERMONT — When the University of Vermont instituted a hiring freeze due to COVID-19, the administration decided to hire an interim student media adviser already working at the school as a professor of English. But they did so without permission or input from the independent outlets that would work with this adviser. Now, just over… Continue reading UVM hires new adviser without student media’s input; adviser threatens editor’s job