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.
Differing opinions
Slashed budgets threaten journalism programs, papers
But student journalists and advisers at universities and colleges in California and Texas, which are both facing massive statewide cuts, say school officials are using shortfalls as an excuse to eliminate journalism programs because of student newspapers that are critical of their administrations.
Sacking news coverage
In 1974, veteran journalist Jack Nelson authored Captive Voices, a book produced by the Robert F.
Confidential
Student Government vs. Student Newspaper
The saying goes, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Many student journalists say they are not willing to refrain from publishing articles that could upset their student governments. But when that same body is the one that provides some, if not all, of their funding, situations can get messy.