Nearly 20 years after Illinois' governor unexpectedly vetoed a measure protecting student journalists against institutional censorship, press-rights advocates are halfway toward their long-sought goal.
ILLINOIS — House lawmakers unanimously passed New Voices legislation Tuesday that would bolster free speech rights for high school journalists and prevent administrative censorship in the Prairie State. House Bill 5902, introduced by Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi earlier this year, would protect high school journalists’ right to free speech and of the press in school-sponsored media,… Continue reading Illinois House unanimously sends New Voices press freedom bill on to Senate
"With the guidance of the SPLC, my fellow student journalists and I learned about what protections we had as student journalists and what we could and could not do to fight administrative overreach."
"Other student journalists and I created our own independent newspaper called the Spotlight so we could write investigative news pieces that are controversial. Without the SPLC, the Spotlight would have never gotten off the ground. The SPLC has helped cultivate my love for the universal right of free speech."
The student press freedom legislation, which already passed the state House, now moves on to the Senate floor.
Passion filled the room when free press advocates, student journalists and educators stressed the importance of unrestricted journalism for high school and college students in a state Senate committee hearing regarding the Walter Cronkite New Voices Act on Wednesday — which the committee then passed 7-0. In 1988, Missouri became the birthplace of the landmark… Continue reading Missouri Senate committee unanimously passes New Voices legislation following hearing
Marcelo Rochabrun, reporting fellow with ProPublica and former editor-in-chief of the Daily Princetonian, discusses his investigation into the 990 forms of Princeton's eating clubs. Frank LoMonte: We are reading a lot these days about the concept of grit and about how educational institutions can best prepare their young people for the workplace and for the real… Continue reading April 2016 Podcast: Using 990 forms to uncover campus secrets
The student journalists have eight weeks to save the Siskiyou — either by raising $50,000 for an endowment or by applying for student government funds.
The Michigan Senate Committee of the Judiciary unanimously passed a student press freedom bill in March. This video shows why it's important with clips from the bill's hearing and U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp's speech on the Senate floor. Music: Wayfaring Blues by Skill_Borrower (c) 2015, Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. Video by SPLC intern Brooke Bean.… Continue reading Video: Fighting for students’ freedom of speech
Private university police forces are not held accountable by the public through public records. Watch the SPLC's video on the dangers of "secret police."