WASHINGTON, D.C. ' During an anti-war rally in the nation's capital March 15, Caroline New, a student journalist from University of Pennsylvania, learned of a rather rowdy group of protesters and began shadowing their movements near the Washington Monument and the White House.
Tag: Spring 2003
Prosecutor closes case against teen
UTAH ' Criminal defamation charges were dropped against a former Milford High School student in January, ending the case brought against him for derogatory comments he posted online about classmates and his principal.
Ian Lake, now a resident of California, was arrested and charged with criminal libel, slander and defamation after commenting on a friend's Web site in 2000 about several students' sexual histories and accusing his high school principal of being the 'town drunk.' Lake spent seven days in a juvenile detention facility.
Fifth District Juvenile Court Judge Hans Chamberlain dropped the misdemeanor criminal defamation of character charge on Jan.
Calif. police arrest credentialed student journalist
CALIFORNIA ' A college newspaper photographer covering anti-war protests in San Francisco was arrested March 20 after police refused to recognize him as a credentialed journalist.
Sacramento City College student Nick Varanelli, a photographer for The Express student newspaper, was taking photos of an anti-war demonstration when police barricaded Mission Street in downtown San Francisco and arrested 300 protesters, along with Varanelli.
Court: minor can consent
FLORIDA ' A federal court ruling late last year that minors have the ability to consent to the use of their images could have broad implications for journalists.
The court ruled that the producers of Girls Gone Wild did not violate the rights of then 17-year-old Veronica Lane when they used footage of her exposed breasts in their videos.
Court victories worth celebrating, but fight goes on
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit gave the college press an important victory in April by reaffirming what courts across the country have been saying for decades: public college and university officials can rarely if ever censor student media.
A double-edged ruling
OHIO ' In a significant legal victory for high school student media, a federal district court judge ruled in February that some student newspapers must be accorded greater legal protection than others.
Although Judge James S.
Be [prior] advised
When college student publications tackle controversial topics, administrators often take an unprecedented interest in the paper.
Newspaper advisers may suddenly find themselves caught between standing up for their students and working to please the administration.
Victory for college press
In April the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit endorsed earlier court rulings that said public colleges and universities cannot demand that content in student-edited publications be reviewed before they are published. In doing so, the court rejected an attempt by the state of Illinois to impose a high school-based censorship standard on college student media.
Student, ACLU sue over withheld article
MICHIGAN ' The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a lawsuit in April on behalf of a Utica High School student journalist who was censored last spring for reporting on residents' claims that school bus diesel fumes were causing health complications.
Katherine Dean, currently a senior and managing editor of the Utica High School Arrow, is claiming in her suit that Utica Community Schools and Superintendent Joan Sergent violated her First Amendment rights when they withheld her article from the Arrow.
The censored article reported on a lawsuit filed by Shelby Township residents who lived next to the school district's bus depot.