Tag: Winter 2002-03

SOUTH CAROLINA ' A school district superintendent cited a policy prohibiting advertising in school publications when he held distribution of Gaffney Middle School's new student paper.

UTAH ' Student journalists at Southern Utah University are resting a little easier, as it appears administrators are backing off their claims that they have a legal right to control the student newspaper's content.

In September, the University Journal criticized the limited availability of condoms on campus, stirring administrators to threaten prior review of the newspaper.

TEXAS ' A student who sued his school district after he was scolded for writing a letter to the editor of the local paper has agreed to an out-of-court settlement.

An agreement was reached after Crosbyton High School student Justin Latimer, his parents, school officials and their lawyers met in December.

NEW JERSEY ' A state appellate court ruled in August that Rutgers Magazine, an official employee-edited publication of Rutgers University, violated the First Amendment rights of an alumni group when it refused to print its advertisement.

INDIANA ' A conservative magazine at Wabash College lost its funding and its standing as a recognized student organization in November after the student senate said its content was 'ungentlemanly.' One month later, the senate agreed to re-instate the magazine's funding, a move which was sought by student editors and First Amendment advocates.

The Wabash Commentary was still placed on probation during the Dec.

Timm Pilcher, adviser of The Challenger student newspaper at Hoover High School in Des Moines, Iowa, wants to know why he should let an outside party limit what his students report on.

Click here for the updated legal guide

Every year, student journalists across the country experience an age-old form of censorship through newspaper theft.

As high school students grow more Internet savvy, the Web is playing a bigger role as an avenue for student free expression.

Administrators are striving to be more watchful for criticism or threats posted online by their students, disciplining those who may cross the line and sometimes ending up in court (See COURTS, page 17).

A number of incidents around the country indicate trends in student Web activities and how administrators are reacting.

'Although courts have given school officials broad authority to regulate and punish students' expression while they are in school, teachers and administrators need to recognize that the First Amendment limits their authority to play parent when the students are home,' said Kim Watterson, an attorney working for the American Civil Liberties Union of greater Pittsburgh.

CALIFORNIA ' A month after 1,000 copies of the University of California at Berkeley's student newspaper were stolen, the city's mayor was charged with a criminal infraction for the theft.

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates admitted in December to being involved in stealing and trashing copies of the Nov.