The board of trustees at public colleges and universities has the crucial job of passing the school’s budget, hiring the president and approving policies that affect students. When its tasks turn sensitive, some boards have tried to keep their discussions private in hope of avoiding public scrutiny.
Tag: Fall 2003
Texas A&M to cut j-program
Texas A&M University decided in July to eliminate its journalism department because administrators said they could not afford to hire the extra professors needed to sustain the program.
Earnhardt's autopsy photos stay sealed
Photographs, videos and audio recordings taken during autopsies will remain out of the public eye as a result of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to not test the constitutionality of a two-year-old law that sealed those records.
Paper sues SUNY Albany after denied funds
A student publisher sued the State University of New York at Albany and its student government in April for what he says was a violation of his First Amendment rights when his conservative paper was denied funding.
Bill would open fire safety info
The country’s colleges and universities would have to provide students, parents and employees with campus fire safety information under legislation being considered in Congress.
Expelled columnist reinstated at Tech by court order
Two courts have forced the university to reinstate the medical student after he was expelled for allegedly revealing confidential information about an autopsy in his student newspaper column. Rao sued Texas Tech last year, claiming that his free-speech rights were violated.
Texas law restricts security camera files
In June, Gov. Rick Perry signed a state homeland security law that seals records pertaining to state-funded security systems. The specifications, operating procedures and locations of cameras are now confidential in an effort to protect both private and public property from an act of terrorism.
Fighting the zoning of free speech
College administrators argue that “free-speech zones” are necessary in order to protect students from being disrupted on their way to class by demonstrators.
Paper sues Harvard police
The Harvard Crimson claimed that because Harvard police officers have official law enforcement authority including the power to arrest people off campus, they should be bound by the Massachusetts Public Records Law.
Hold that thought
When two student newspapers this spring covered the hiring and firing practices of their colleges, administrators ordered a review of the papers' content because they said they were concerned about accuracy in reporting.