Tag: Winter 2001-02

WISCONSIN ' A military academy filed a libel suit against a parent of a former student and a law firm, claiming their respective Web sites damaged the school's reputation.

In the suit filed in May, St.

Thirteen years after the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, student-press advocates continue to fight for the rights of student journalists taken away by that ruling.

The most immediate movement is in Pennsylvania, where the Pennsylvania School Press Association is rallying support to oppose proposed changes to the state school code that would put limits on what student publications can publish and remove protections that have been in the code since 1984.

New regulations, proposed by the state board of education, would reduce approximately 24 paragraphs that detail specific protection for student journalists to four paragraphs of broad regulations.

For example, the current guidelines state that 'students have the right to express themselves unless the expression ' threatens immediate harm to the welfare of the school or community.' The new legislation would remove the word 'immediately,' a change that troubles student-press advocates.

For reporters at Auburn University's newspaper, The Plainsman, trying to get into a board of trustees meeting was like hitting a brick wall.

LOUISIANA ' The campus newspaper and student government at Northwestern State University fought a heated battle this fall that almost led to the dismissal of the student newspaper editor.

In a 23-4 vote, the student senate decided to remove Rondray Hill as editor of The Current Sauce for refusing to publish the minutes of student senate meetings.

FLORIDA ' Following the settlement of a libel suit involving Leon High School, students will probably think twice before publishing offensive comments about their teachers and administrators.

The 3-year-old case was settled in October a few days before going to trial.

CALIFORNIA ' The dispute over the yearbook at Salinas High School has escalated from a troubling incident to an impending trial.

Eight high school students are bringing suit against administrators for what they claim is censorship of their yearbook, the El Gabian, during the 2000-01 school year.

KENTUCKY ' University of Kentucky officials have released employee records previously denied to the student newspaper after being threatened with a lawsuit in Fayette County Circuit Court.

While employees' identities will remain undisclosed, their race, gender and ages will be released in a database made available to the Kentucky Kernal.

Wanting to avoid a lawsuit, the administration offered a compromise to the newspaper.

MINNESOTA ' The student government at St. Cloud State University passed and then rescinded a motion requiring a conduct code violation be filed against any student-media organization that uses American Indian nicknames and logos in news content.

The motion passed on Nov.

Chris Ransick claims he was removed from his job for refusing to perform prior review.

Barbara Lach-Smith alleges her contract was not renewed in retaliation for a newspaper story uncovering an outrageous severance package given to her university's ex-president.

Toby Eichas is suing his former high school after he was forced out by administrators who had problems with the content of the school's newspaper.

John Schmitt's suit alleges that he was removed because university officials took issue with stories that showed their school in an unfavorable light.

The common thread: Advisers who chose to maintain their journalistic principles ' and as a result lost their jobs.

Their situations are by no means unique, as every year there are several advisers removed from their posts by disgruntled administrators.

MARYLAND ' A high school's newspaper was asked to recall issues on Oct. 1, while its television station yielded to a request to edit some content later in the week ' both stemming from their coverage of the student government president's impeachment hearings.

The Black & White at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda reported on the impeachment hearings of Austin Lavin, the student government president, in its Sept.