Student newspaper reveals textbook prices after judge orders store to release invoices

NEW YORK -- A judge ruled in November that the state freedom of information law requires a community college bookstore to release its invoices to the student newspaper, despite the bookstore's claim that the invoices were proprietary information.

The Hudson Valley Community College Faculty Student Association, a nonprofit group that runs the bookstore and other campus services, turned over the invoices in redacted form to editors at The Hudsonian student newspaper, who then published a story on the bookstore prices.

Judge George Ceresia Jr.

Alligator crawls into autopsy photo swamp

FLORIDA -- The University of Florida student newspaper stepped into the legal arena built around legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt's autopsy photos in March to challenge a settlement made between Earnhardt's widow and the Orlando Sentinel.

That settlement allowed the Sentinel to have an independent medical examiner evaluate photographs from Earnhardt's autopsy, after which the photos were to be sealed.

Judge orders alumni magazine to publish group’s advocacy ad

NEW JERSEY -- A public university's alumni magazine cannot refuse advocacy advertising because doing so violates the First Amendment rights of advertisers, according to a March court ruling.

Rutgers Alumni Council 1000 sued Rutgers University in 1999 after the alumni publication, Rutgers University Magazine, refused to publish the group's advertisement urging university officials to shift their focus from athletics to academics.

The magazine said the ad violated its policy against advocacy advertising, but Rutgers 1000 argued that the policy was not put in writing until after it filed a lawsuit, and a judge agreed.

Community college presidents are not public officials, according to ruling by Nevada court

NEVADA -- The state supreme court ruled in March that the president of a community college is not a public officer and that at least parts of a college's presidential search may be conducted privately.

The decision came after The Las Vegas Review-Journal sued in September to prevent the Community College of Southern Nevada Board of Regents from privately interviewing presidential candidates.

Supreme Court refuses to hear paper’s appeal

PENNSYLVANIA -- The U.S. Supreme Court declined in January to hear a college student newspaper's appeal of a state law banning alcohol ads in college publications.

Now the case is headed back to a federal district court for a full hearing.

The 1996 law prohibits businesses from advertising alcohol in publications produced "by, for, or in behalf of any education institution."

The U.S.

Newspaper joins board of trustees fight

ALABAMA -- Student and professional journalists have joined together to sue the Auburn University Board of Trustees because of what they believe are violations of the state's open-meetings law.

Six professional newspapers, along with the Alabama Press Association and Auburn's student newspaper, The Auburn Plainsman, filed a lawsuit Feb.