Contrary to the image of college sports as a moneymaker, most athletic programs (even championship-caliber powerhouses) rely on student fees and grants from their parent institutions to make ends meet. Recent investigations by The Washington Post and The Chronicle of Higher Education have captured the enormity of the growing financial burden that athletics imposes on debt-strapped students.
The most recent review of the state of high school journalism showed the latest struggles, and the progress made, since the first review in 1974.
MISSOURI — Almost three decades ago, a U.S. Supreme Court case centered around a Missouri school district drastically slashed student journalists’ rights in favor of school administrators. Now, a newly filed piece of legislation aims to restore those rights to student journalists in Missouri public schools and colleges. On Tuesday, Rep. Elijah Haahr, a Republican,… Continue reading Missouri legislator introduces ‘New Voices’ bill to protect student journalists from censorship
Missouri is the latest state to introduce legislation that will protect the free speech and free press rights of student journalists in public schools and colleges.
This past school year, student journalists at Fairmont State clashed repeatedly with administrators. Their adviser was dismissed and the students felt forced to resign their positions as editors. An SPLC investigation uncovered a culture of intimidation with student media at the university for the past decade.
Students' First Amendment right to wear T-shirts with social or political statements is a fiercely disputed issue that regularly ends up in court. A new ruling from Tennessee adds to the consensus that speech on a T-shirt cannot be banned as "disruptive" just because it addresses an issue of social controversy such as LGBT rights.
A federal appeals court sided with the University of Hawaii's dismissal of a student who made unprofessional comments that the university believed rendered him unfit to enter the teaching profession. The ruling appears to lower the bar for the protection of students' speech when enrolled in a pre-professional program, enabling colleges to remove those students even without showing that their speech was unlawful or disruptive.
2015 was a rollercoaster year for student media and First Amendment rights in schools. Review the year's highs and lows in the SPLC's recap post.
Federal rules require "research" involving "human subjects" to be approved by colleges' Institutional Review Boards. Overzealous colleges occasionally have insisted that student journalists submit their surveys or questionnaires for institutional pre-approval, violating basic principles of press freedom. The SPLC is urging the federal government to adopt a proposal categorically removing journalism from the purview of IRBs.
University of Kansas officials have placed two fraternities on probation for hazing in the last academic year, but won’t disclose what the hazing entailed. Delta Tau Delta is accused of engaging in hazing in the fall; Phi Beta Sigma, in the spring. Documents given to reporters disclose the punishments (including being barred from candidate intake… Continue reading University of Kansas: hazing is protected by FERPA, but discipline isn’t