Tag: Spring 2003

The spring semester brought a slew of allegations of racism against student newspapers nationwide, adding to several controversies reported in the last year. Students responded to questionable coverage in a variety of ways, while newspaper staffers defended the spoofs, editorials and news stories that landed them under scrutiny.

Alternative, independent publications offer students new avenues to express their opinions and exercise their First Amendment rights.

FLORIDA ' Stetson University administrators fired the entire student newspaper staff and suspended the paper's production because they said an April Fool's edition contained racist and sexist material.

From billion dollar budget crises to orange alerts for homeland security, state legislators are busier than ever this session.

In what has become a routine method of stifling the work of student journalists, thieves nationwide this spring stole and trashed thousands of copies of college newspapers.

PENNSYLVANIA ' A school district policy that allowed administrators to punish students for material they produced off-campus was declared unconstitutional Feb.

ILLINOIS ' Although editors obtained a security camera videotape of someone throwing away 50 copies of the January edition of The Leader, the student newspaper at Elmhurst College, no one is expected to be charged in the incident.

In January, editor in chief Cherie Getchell identified the person on tape as an assistant football coach.

It was a long time coming. First there were questions. Then negotiation attempts. Through it all, Pinchas Shapiro knew nothing could be said that would force him to disclose his confidential sources.

INDIANA ' Rep. Tiny Adams, D-Muncie, said he would propose a bill to make newspaper theft a misdemeanor in the future, despite the bill's failure this spring in the state House of Representatives.

In April 2002 a student was raped at the University of Wyoming. The student newspaper, The Branding Iron, sought to publish the incident report.