2. Censorship of Student Publications

RECOMMENDATIONS:

All colleges should establish policies that explicitly protect freedom of the student press:

1) Prior review should be prohibited at every institution, because it makes any college vulnerable to litigation, and it is unconstitutional at public colleges.

2) Colleges should explicitly protect the rights of faculty advisers, to ensure that disagreement with the content of the newspaper is not used as an excuse to punish advisers.

3) Colleges should protect funding of campus papers against retaliation for their content. Colleges should encourage the development of alternative newspapers by providing adequate resources and access to facilities. Alternative student newspapers must receive equal treatment as other student groups in funding. All student publication should have substantial access to distribute access campus.

4) Student journalists should be encouraged to develop sound policies to address controversial issues regarding content and advertising. However, these policies cannot be imposed by the administration or journalism faculty. Colleges should provide opportunities for student journalists to receive advice and instruction about journalistic skills and ethics.

5) The content of a student newspaper should not be used for disciplinary action except under extraordinary circumstances such as confession of a serious crime. Campus conduct codes should not apply to student writing in a publication.

6) Threats against journalists and the trashing of free newspapers should be explicitly recognized as violations of the campus code of conduct, and disciplinary action should be pursued against those who do this.

 

(* denotes a trashing case listed in other categories)

 

SUPPRESSION OF CAMPUS NEWSPAPERS:

The direct shutdown of a college newspaper is the most serious threat to freedom of the college press.

 

(a) Governors State University (Illinois): In the most critical case for freedom of the college press, student newspapers won a victory in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled on April 10, 2003 that Governors State University did not have a legal right under the 1988 Hazelwood high school newspaper case to censor college newspapers. Jeni Porche and Margaret Hosty, former editors of the Innovator student newspaper, sued Governors State University, accusing university officials of tampering with their mail, locking them out of their office, replacing a computer without consent and calling the paper's printer to demand prior review of the paper. The Oct. 31, 2000 issue included an article about a grievance filed by Innovator’s faculty advisor who had been dismissed. GSU president Stuart Fagan declared that the editors "failed to meet basic journalistic standards." The administration ordered the printer not to print any further issues of the Innovator until an administrator had read over the issue in advance to ensure it met “journalistic standards.” Since that date, the Innovator has not been published. Governors State began a new student newspaper, the Phoenix, in Fall 2002, but it has refused to relinquish the power of censorship over student publications. Although Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan declared in a Fall 2002 debate that she did not support censorship of the college press, her office has continued to make the argument that public universities can censor student papers, and appealed the 7th Circuit decision for an en banc hearing by all of the 7th Circuit judges. The case will return to a lower court for trial.

(Hosty v. Carter, 2003 WL 1844809 (7th Cir. April 10, 2003); www.collegefreedom.org/gsu.htm)

 

(b) Stetson University (Florida): Administrators shut down The Reporter for the rest of the semester after its April Fools edition, The Distorter, included satirical articles deemed racist, profanity, and an offensive sex-advice column. Although the editor in chief and the sex columnist apologized and offered to resign, the administration demanded that the newspaper cease publication for the school year. Staff members were given 15 minutes to remove belongings from the newspaper office as the locks were changed. Michelle Espinosa, dean of students, declared: "We believe very strongly in students' need for autonomy. But the students do assume responsibility for their editorial decisions." According to Espinosa, "It's a violation of the mission statement and ethical guidelines described under the parameters of the university." The conservative university was once affiliated with the Florida Baptist Convention, and its newspaper has been ranked as one of the best private university newspapers in the state.

(AP, April 11, 2003; FSView & Florida Flambeau, April 14, 2003; SPLC, April 16, 2003)

 

 

LEGAL THREATS

The threat by administrators of lawsuits and disciplinary action in order to suppress criticism of the university is a particularly disturbing attempt at censorship.

 

(c) Harvard University Graduate School of Business: After The Harbus published an Oct. 28, 2002 editorial cartoon criticizing technical problems with the Career Link Program and using the phrase "incompetent morons," editor Nick Will was given a verbal warning for the cartoon for violating the community standards code. Will resigned because of “personal intimidation and threats” and to “avoid personal risk" of further disciplinary action. Harvard Business School Dean Kim B. Clark admitted making an error in the case and promised that Harvard would commit to protecting free speech.

(SPLC, Jan. 14, 2003)

 

(d) Oakland University (Michigan): The Oakland Post objected to a closed briefing held for trustees in violation of the open meetings act, and staffers filed a lawsuit against the trustees and led a petition drive with 1,200 signatures calling for open meetings. University general counsel Victor Zambardi threatened to sue the paper: "if the Oakland [Post] publishes another article stating or implying that the board has violated the Michigan Open Meetings Act, or files another false complaint, I will recommend the immediate commencement of legal proceedings against the Oakland [Post] as a corporate entity and against those individuals responsible."

(SPLC, April 1, 2003)

 

(e) Texas Tech: Sandeep Rao was expelled from medical school on April 25, 2002 after he wrote a Jan. 24 column in The University Daily discussing his experience during an autopsy. The school said Rao had violated the terms of a confidentiality agreement he had signed upon admittance, promising not to reveal information that could identify patients. On May 12, 2003, the state appellate court in Amarillo upheld a previous court order that overturned the punishment to Sandeep Rao and allowed him to remain in school pending the outcome of his lawsuit, which will determine whether his free-speech rights were violated. (SPLC, July 2, 2002; June 3, 2003; Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center v. Rao, 2003 WL 21058116 (Tex.App.-Amarillo). Read the decision here)

 

(f) *Utah Valley State College: Administrators sought to punish College Times opinion page editor Michael Strong and staffer Angela Nibley for a controversial column written by Strong that accused campus officials of favoritism in letting Nibley drop classes late. Strong was accused by editor-in-chief Brian Hassler of inserting the column after the editor had approved the page, a charge which Strong denied. The column quoted Nibley, who is a friend of Strong’s, criticizing the paper and its staffers, and Strong also mentioned "an inappropriate sexual relationship worthy of Jerry Springer" between two newspaper staffers. The editor-in-chief removed the printed copies when the column was discovered. Strong and Nibley had their newspaper tuition waivers immediately revoked; Nibley was also dropped from her classes for nonpayment, and lost her campus job. In addition, Strong and Nibley were brought up on charges under the campus conduct code, accused of delivery of false information to college personnel, failure to respect the rights of others, and failure to act in a way that does not endanger the health and well-being of other students or school personnel. The charges were later dropped.

(Deseret News, Jan. 30, 2003; Salt Lake Tribune, Feb. 7, 2003)

 

 

THREATS TO NEWSPAPER ADVISERS

Newspaper advisers are among the most vulnerable faculty, because they are often untenured and are held responsible for controversial content in campus newspapers. At many colleges, advisers are expected to make prior review of a student newspaper, and all too many of them do so.

 

(g) Mount Saint Mary’s College (Maryland): William Lawbaugh, adviser for the Mountain Echo, retired in August 2002. Lawbaugh had been reprimanded and had part of his salary withheld for refusing to censor the student newspaper.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03)

 

(h) Southern Connecticut State University: President Michael Adanti and other top administrators sought to remove newspaper adviser Frank Harris III because he refused to exercise prior restraint of the paper. On Sept. 20, 2003, the university's Academic Freedom Committee declared, "The administration cannot, contractually, remove an adviser because of actions and statements that are protected as part of the faculty's academic freedom. The contract stipulates that faculty cannot be disciplined by administration for the exercise of protected free speech and/or conduct ...Faculty do have the right not to be disciplined for the exercise of academic freedom." The administration finally agreed to let Harris have his job back, but the journalism department has filed a grievance over the administration’s decision to delay a search for an unfilled position.

(Connecticut Law Tribune, Sept. 30, 2002)

 

(i) Southern Utah University: two University Journal articles criticizing campus policies on condoms, accompanied by an illustration of a condom on a banana, caused the president and a trustee to attack the newspaper, and led to a steering committee addressing final control over newspaper content. Trustee Dane Leavitt (brother of the Governor) wrote to newspaper adviser Paul Husselbee, “In analyzing your managing director performance in this instance, I am left to assume you were either absent, recklessly negligent or guilty of very poor judgment.” President Steven Bennion asserted that the university has “a responsibility to monitor the paper” and its content. An investigation by the Society of Professional Journalists blamed a "perceived climate of intolerance" and "threatening" administrative complaints about newspaper content, but claimed that "the issue of the autonomy of the University Journal got unnecessarily out of hand.”

(SPLC, Oct. 10, 2002; Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 26, 2002; Dec. 9, 2002; controversial article and editorial)

 

(j) Tennessee State University: Pamela Foster, adviser to The Meter, refused a request by the head of the communications department to “perform mandatory prior review” of the newspaper.

(AP, Dec. 9, 2002; SPLC Report, Spring 2003)

 

(k) Thiel College (Pennsylvania): the newspaper adviser to the Thielensian, Dan West, resigned for fear that articles unpopular with the administration that he refused to censor would affect his chances at promotion and tenure. Members of the board of trustees were concerned about a front-page photograph of a student wearing condoms on her ears during a sex education event, and the paper had also written about above average administrative salaries. After West quit, the administration ordered the printer not to publish the paper until the Dean of Student Services called to approve it, claiming that delaying the issue by at least one day was necessary due to liability issues.

(Pitt News, Feb. 14, 2003; SPLC, Feb. 21, 2003)

 

(l) *Wagner College (New York): After The Wagnerian ran a sex column, administrators removed all the copies of the newspaper on Nov. 22, 2002, and threatened to fire the newspaper adviser. The Administration claimed to fear litigation from the parents of students who answered the question “Orgasms: Do you fake it?” Petitions were signed by 58 professors and more than 700 students protesting the “restriction of free speech at Wagner.”

(SPLC, Feb. 4, 2003)

 

 

PRIOR RESTRAINT

Prior restraint is among the most serious violations of freedom of the campus press. Demands for prior review, and restrictions on news coverage, also endanger the college press.

 

(m) *Community College of Baltimore County at Catonsville (Maryland): Peter Law, director of student life, confiscated all 1,000 copies of The Red and Black on April 9, 2003, claiming that it needed fact checking by the newspaper adviser. The paper, which has criticized the administration as “top-heavy” and included an editorial critical of the college’s hiring practices, was finally released more than a day later, after many students had left on spring break.

(Baltimore Sun, April 14, 2003; SPLC, May 6, 2003)

 

(n) Cumberland County College (New Jersey): College officials prevented The Voice from taking a photograph of a Sept. 11 remembrance banner after one anonymous student wrote “Fuck Y’all” on it. Administrators criticized adviser Patty Hanahoe-Dosch for telling the media about what happened, leading her to fear retaliation and seek another job.

(SPLC, Dec. 20, 2002; SPLC Report, Spring 2003)

 

(o) *Loyola University (New Orleans): President Bernard Knoth banned the Maroon newspaper from reporting on the departure of prominent music program director Scott Fredrickson in the May 9, 2003 issue. When Knoth learned of the story being written on May 8, he ordered the journalists to delete any reference to Fredrickson being fired, and called back a few minutes later to order the removal of the entire story. Knoth declared that the story “was well-written, it was well-edited, but it was in the end conjecture." When a production mistake caused a headline from the censored story to be printed in the May 9 issue, staffers felt obliged to pick up the copies. University officials picked up the newspaper and destroyed it; the last issue of the school year was corrected and reprinted for distribution on May 12.

(New Orleans Times-Picayune, May 11, 2003; SPLC, May 15, 2003)

 

(p) Murray State University (Kentucky): Administrators ordered the creation of a prior review board for the student-run television station to examine all opinion and entertainment programming before broadcast. A cartoon created by two students about a fictional all-black residence hall was deemed racist. Gary Brockway, provost and vice president of academic affairs, asked for the two cartoonists to be fired and declared, "state funding cannot be used to support racism on our campus." The two students were allowed to keep their jobs, but were told to create more positive messages about the university.

(SPLC, Oct. 30, 2002)

 

(q) Seminole Community College (Florida): After delaying publication of The Scribe for four days in Sept. 2002, administrators finally allowed the newspaper to publish a sex column in which sex is described as shagging ass, women who do not use birth control were called "stupid bitches," and the word “scumbag” was used. Administrators asserted that they still had editorial control over the newspaper.

(Sun-Sentinel, Sept. 20, 2002; News-Journal, Sept. 23, 2002; SPLC, Sept. 17, 2002; Independent Florida Alligator, Sept. 19, 2002)

 

(r) University of Iowa: administrators apologized for requiring prior review of scripts from a news broadcast by students that dealt with a campus murder trial.

(Daily Iowan, Dec. 18, 2002)

 

(s) University of Wyoming: Since September 2002, President Philip Dubois has refused to allow the student publications board and the student newspaper, the Branding Iron, to use the newspaper’s own funds to sue the campus police in order to obtain information about two sexual assaults on campus. Dubois also proposed changing the structure of the publications board after it approved the lawsuit.

(AP, Dec. 16, 2002; Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Jan. 11, 2003; SPLC, Jan. 31, 2003)

 

(t) Washtenaw Community College (Michigan): Citing Michigan’s Campaign Finance Act (which prohibits state-funded institutions from taking political stands), administrators ordered the college-funded newspaper, The Student Voice, to eliminate an editorial endorsing board of trustees candidates in the Oct. 26, 2002 edition and publish it instead as a letter to the editor.

(SPLC, Nov. 11, 2002)

 

 

TRASHING NEWSPAPERS

COMMENT: Although the trashing of student newspapers is less serious than prior restraints and administrative censorship, destruction of free newspapers is widespread. There are 34 student newspaper trashing incidents in 2002-03, a slight increase from the previous year. When an issue is trashed, it amounts to direct censorship of the paper for its readers. Trashing puts a financial burden on newspapers and the threat of future trashings is a nuisance for publications. Unfortunately, many students and even administrators think that their free speech includes the right to prevent others from reading newspapers. Increasingly, colleges and police departments are treating newspaper trashings as a crime.

 

(u) Drexel University (Pennsylvania): three students who were caught on security cameras trashing all 5,800 copies of The Triangle’s Nov. 22, 2002 edition were placed on disciplinary probation and had to pay $175 each in compensation. Students had taken the issue because of a cartoon criticizing one of them by name that was printed after he wrote a letter criticizing the cartoonist for stereotyping Polish people.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03; Spring 2003)

 

(v) Eastern Michigan University: 3,000 copies of The Eastern Echo were stolen on Feb. 3 and Feb. 5, 2003, possibly because of front-page stories about “Coming Out Week” and a hearing for a football player charged with sexual assault. In Nov. 2002, 3,000 copies of the paper were also stolen.

(SPLC, Feb. 14, 2003; SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03)

 

(w) Elmhurst College (Illinois): assistant football coach Mark Krzykowski was caught on tape trashing copies of Dec. 4, 2002 edition of The Leader because of an article about the head football coach.

(SPLC, Jan. 14, 2003)

 

(x) Framingham State College: three football players took over 1,000 copies of the student newspaper because of an article about hazing by the football team.

(SPLC, March 5, 2003)

 

(y) Georgia State University: About 3,000 copies of the Feb. 11 issue of The Signal were stolen and typed notes left in the bins declared, “Looking for a Signal? The people have spoken.” A student group had denounced the newspaper, claiming that it discriminates against black students by running sketches of suspected criminals. In Nov. 2002, about 1,000 copies of the newspaper had also disappeared.

(SPLC, Feb. 14, 2003; SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03)

 

(z) Marquette University (Wisconsin): 1,000 copies of The Marquette Tribune, were stolen Oct. 3, 2002, the day before Parents Weekend because of a front-page article about a murder near campus. A student union employee seen confiscating newspapers said that managers had ordered employees to remove the papers because the story might upset parents. After a local reporter began investigating what happened, the papers reappeared in distribution bins and administrators apologized for the seizure of newspapers. Marquette's journalism department faculty denounced efforts by university employees to censor the campus newspaper through theft.

(SPLC, Oct. 22, 2002)

 

(aa) Murray State University: two staffers from the School Relations office ordered student orientation leaders to confiscate 300 copies of the April 25 Murray State News from university buildings during an orientation weekend for prospective students. The article featured stories on campus thefts and a sexual assault The administrators apologized for "an extreme error in judgment on our part" and agreed to send copies of the issue to all students who attended the orientation.

(SPLC, May 6, 2003)

 

(bb) Niagara County Community College (New York): the administration eliminated the full-time newspaper adviser position (replacing it with oversight by a part-time journalism professor) for The Spirit. Adviser Dayle Austin said, "They're getting rid of me because I wouldn't censor the students." The adviser was told by the Dean of Students, “Your job is to make the college look good,” and administrators had criticized articles in the newspaper.

(Buffalo News, May 6, 2003; May 9, 2003; May 16, 2003; SPLC, May 7, 2003)

 

(cc) Northern Michigan University: thieves took more than 3,000 copies of The North Wind.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03)

 

(dd) San Antonio College (Texas): 400 copies of The Ranger were taken Feb. 21, 2003 by a campus cybercafe student manager who claimed he wanted additional copies to promote the café. However, the front-page article, "Bailey's Cybercafe violates city code," was denounced by administrators as "a gross misrepresentation" and editors believe the copies were taken to stop people from reading the article.

(SPLC, March 5, 2003)

 

(ee) San Diego State University (California): members of Muslim and Asian student groups stole over 6,000 copies of the Daily Aztec in Oct. 2002, and protested against a cartoon that showed Sadaam Hussein and Yassar Arafat as camels and another cartoon that portrayed a fat Chinese man reacting to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03)

 

(ff) South Dakota State University: 2,325 copies of The Collegiate were trashed on Feb. 26, 2003 because of a student government endorsement. The papers were later found and redistributed.

(SPLC, March 5, 2003)

 

(gg) University of California at Berkeley: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates pled guilty to trashing 1,000 copies of the Nov. 8, 2002 Daily Californian, which had endorsed his opponent in the election. Bates paid a $100 fine, and promised to propose a city ordinance and support state legislation to make it a crime to steal free newspapers.

(SPLC, Jan. 8, 2003)

 

(hh) University of California at Berkeley: two students were arrested on May 8, 2003, for stealing thousands of copies of the Daily Californian because they claimed that a front-page photo of a black football player arrested for assault was racist. Thieves trashed 1,000 copies of the May 7 issue and 2,400 copies of the May 8 issue.

(SPLC, May 9, 2003)

 

(ii) University of California at Riverside: Thieves took 8,000 copies of The Highlander in May 2003 because of a critical report about a controversial student senate meeting.

(Highlander, May 20, 2003; North County Times, May 28, 2003)

 

(jj) University of Connecticut: 9,000 out of the 10,000 copies of The Daily Campus on Feb. 28, 2003 were stolen, and some found in trash bags in front of the school library. The Feb. 27, 2003 issue included an opinion piece claiming that the campus African-American Cultural Center was propagating segregation and racism by holding events exclusively for black students. The stolen issue included two pages of letters in reaction to the column.

(Daily Campus, March 3, 2003; SPLC, March 5, 2003)

 

(kk) University of Wisconsin-Marathon County: 50 copies of the April 8 April Fool’s issue of the Forum were burned and 50 copies stuffed in toilets in the student union, apparently because of an interview with Jesus. The president of the student association reported that several offended students wanted the newspaper’s funding cut.

(SPLC, April 16, 2003)

 

(ll) University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh: More than 3,000 copies of two editions of The Advance-Titan were stolen by fraternities, sororities, and other student groups for use in making homecoming floats.

(SPLC, Nov. 11, 2002)

 

(mm) University of Wisconsin at River Falls: Three student who left notes in empty bins calling themselves the "Army of the Flying Squirrel" stole 2,000 copies of the Student Voice in April 2003, demanding that it publish a picture of a flying squirrel, naked pictures of Bea Arthur, a football helmet full of cottage cheese, and apologize for everything it has ever printed. The students wrote, “Remember: once you put that paper on the stands it is free property, hence we cannot be punished or reprimanded for what we have done." They were caught and face a disciplinary hearing.

(SPLC, May 7, 2003)

 

(nn) University of Wisconsin-Waukesha: after a columnist in the Oct. 22, 2002 issue of The Observer blamed black people, baggy clothing, and welfare for a fatal mob beating of a man in Milwaukee, student organizations stole copies of the student newspaper, asked for the firing of the columnist, and called for the university to cut off funding to the newspaper.

(SPLC, Nov. 5, 2002)

 

(oo) Vincennes University: 1,500 out of 2,000 copies of the April Fool’s edition of the Trailblazer were stolen. Sports editor Tim Turner reported seeing the student trustees carrying away bundles of it, and overheard the Student Senate President Lathon Harney telling students to confiscate the newspaper. Harney denied taking the paper, but Harney declared, “I have your budget in my back pocket” and threatened to “hit you where it hurts.”

(SPLC, April 8, 2003)

 

(pp) Washington University (Missouri): 6,500 out 7,000 copies of the Student Life were stolen from a loading dock in Dec. 2002.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03)

 

 

CONSERVATIVE NEWSPAPERS

COMMENT: Conservative newspapers often face threats of censorship, especially from anonymous thieves. Because these papers are non-dailies, and seek to print controversial content, they are a particular target for censorship by trashings. The number of conservative campus newspapers has grown by 50% over the past two years, which may account for an increase in the number of censorship cases (Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2003).

 

(qq) *Georgetown University (DC): up to 1,000 copies of the Nov. 2002 issue of the conservative Georgetown Academy were temporarily stolen because the newspaper mocked students with epithets based on their surnames, ethnicity, and appearance. The copies were anonymously returned to the Office of Student Programs with a note asking administrators to monitor “irresponsible” use of free expression. Administrators condemned the theft.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03, http://www.campusconservatives.com/updates/000017.html)

 

(rr) Princeton University: a group of students asked the university to cut off funding to the Princeton Tory, a conservative newspaper.

(Daily Princetonian, Nov. 26, 2002)

 

(ss) *State University of New York at Albany: 1,750 out of 4,000 copies of the conservative  College Standard Magazine were stolen on Oct. 3-4, 2002, and racks have been defaced with expletives and the word “Nazis.” In Feb. 2003, the student government’s Central Council voted 14-6 to deny a $350 grant to The College Standard, a conservative campus newspaper, because the newspaper was accused of misquoting people and getting facts wrong.

(SPLC, Oct. 22, 2002; Feb. 26, 2003; Albany Times Union, Feb. 18, 2003)

 

(tt) *University of California at Davis: a majority of an issue of the campus conservative publication, Liberty's Flame, was dumped in a recycling bin

(Bucknell Counterweight, http://www.campusconservatives.com/updates/000017.html)

 

(uu) *University of California at Irvine: 500 copies of the March 2003 issue of the conservative Irvine Review were stolen, apparently because an article about a Filipino Studies program was deemed racially offensive. Some students approached the newspaper’s advertisers and threatened a boycott if they continued to advertise.

(SPLC, March 7, 2003; SPLC Report, Spring 2003)

 

(vv) University of Dallas: on Dec. 13, 2002, administrators banned Justice, a conservative student newspaper that had criticized campus officials, from being produced or distributed on campus. Officials claimed that it was banned for accepting off-campus donations and establishing a 501(c) entity. Justice was reinstated in 2003, but every issue must be inspected by a faculty member for approval, and the organization is banned from raising money through private donations, grants, and student government allocations. The Office of Student Life must be informed about all advertising and alumni support.

(AIA Campus Report, Jan. 2003; www.udjustice.com)

 

(ww) *University of Oregon: 80% of a Spring 2003 issue of the Oregon Commentator, a conservative alternative newspaper, was trashed. The Commentator also objected to a University of Oregon policy requiring the use of a new campus logo on all student material, including student publications.

(campusnonsense.com, March 7, 2003; www.oregoncommentator.com)

 

(xx) Wabash College (Indiana): The student senate restored funding and recognition to The Wabash Commentary during a Dec. 10, 2002 meeting. At its Nov. 12 meeting, the senate at the all-male college ruled that the conservative newspaper had violated the rule to act as “gentlemen” by calling a professor’s wife “fat and ugly” in the October/November 2002 issue. The newspaper was still placed on probation, and its editors promised to publish an apology.

(SPLC, Dec. 20, 2002)

 

 

PROGRESSIVE NEWSPAPERS

COMMENT: Progressive alternative newspapers are much rarer than conservative newspapers, which are supported and financed by national conservative groups. However, progressive newspapers are also vulnerable to attacks and censorship for their content.

 

(yy) Davidson College (North Carolina): the administration asked libertas, an alternative progressive newspaper, to stop using profanity after alumni and parents complained about it.

(libertas, Nov. 8, 2002)

 

(zz) *Illinois State University: several hundred copies of the Nov. 6, 2002 Indy, a progressive weekly, were stolen and ripped up because of the “Impeach Bush” headline. Small numbers of the newspaper have been trashed throughout the school year. Campus officials took no action against a student who gave his name and proudly admitted that he and his friends regularly stole copies of the newspaper.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03; Indy, Nov. 13, 2002)

 

(aaa) *University of California at Riverside: thieves took 2,250 copies of the X-Factor, a progressive alternative monthly, along with nine out of its 10 distribution bins.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03)

 

 

ARREST OF JOURNALISTS

COMMENT: A dramatic increase in the arrest of student journalists, especially photographers, who cover protests reflects police tactics that lead to mass arrests of peaceful protesters, bystanders, and journalists. While professional journalists are usually released quickly, police are much more likely to keep student journalists in jail. Imprisonment obviously prevents student journalists from reporting, and the threat of arrest may keep journalists from pursuing a story.

 

(bbb) Chico State University (California): Misha Osinovskiy, a photographer with The Orion, was arrested and spent more than five hours in jail for photographing an undercover Alcoholic Beverage Control officer giving a citation. The officer claimed that the flashes from the camera interfered with his duties. The charges were eventually dropped.

(SPLC, Sept. 20, 2002)

 

(ccc) Daily Pennsylvanian photography editor Caroline New and Indiana Daily Student photographer Aaron Bernstein were arrested in March, 2003 and held in jail over the weekend because they followed a group of protestors into the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., even though the public is allowed in the building lobby and the photographers were never told to leave. Charges of unlawful entry were dropped after a court appearance.

(SPLC Report, Spring 2003; SPLC, March 17, 2003)

 

(ddd) George Washington University (DC): Four student journalists for The Hatchet were arrested for covering demonstrations against the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in September 2002, along with three law students serving as legal observers for the National Lawyers Guild. The students and the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the D.C. police, the National Park Service, and the Attorney General. According to the Washington Post, a report by the DC Police’s internal affairs unit concluded that "police never intended to scatter the crowd - which had massed in Pershing Park after a morning of roving demonstrations - but instead had planned to surround the park and arrest those inside.”

(SPLC, Oct. 22, 2002; March 7, 2003)

 

(eee) George Mason University (Virginia): Jason Hornick, a staff photographer for Broadside, was arrested for "failure to obey an officer" along with 650 other protesters, bystanders, and journalists on Sept. 27, 2002 in Pershing Park, when DC police refused to warn protesters or allow people to leave before arresting them. Hornick was held on a city bus for 16 hours before being officially charged, and held an additional four hours because he refused to pled guilty. Charges were eventually dropped.

(SPLC, Oct. 18, 2002)

 

(fff) Sacramento City College: Nick Varanelli, a photographer for The Express, was charged with rioting and blocking traffic after he attempted to cover an anti-war demonstration where San Francisco police arrested 1,300 people by barricading Mission Street.

(SPLC, March 25, 2003)

 

 

ADVERTISING

COMMENT: Although no campus newspaper should ever be forced to run any advertisement, student papers should be careful not to restrict the free exchange of ideas through restrictive ad policies. The far more serious threat to freedom of the student press comes from two court decisions regulating advertisements. In the Pitt News case, a court ruled that college newspapers can be banned from running alcohol ads. In a case at Rutgers, the alumni magazine was forced to print an ad critical of campus policy. Although this decision applies only to official publications at public colleges, it could present a future threat to freedom of the student press.

 

(ggg) Boston College: the independent student newspaper, The Heights, refused to run an ad for a play about Nazism, “Good,” because the ad included a swastika. A revised version of the ad without a swastika was published.

(Boston Globe, Feb. 16, 2003)

 

(hhh) Columbia University: The Columbia Daily Spectator rejected an ad denouncing professor Nicholas De Genova for his comment about "a million Mogadishus.” "This pig professor is extended more rights than the Jewish Defense Organization. Where is our free speech to run him out of his job?" complained Jeff Adler, a spokesperson for the JDO.

(Newsday, April 4, 2003)

 

(iii) Rutgers University (New Jersey): a state appeals court ruled that Rutgers Magazine must publish an ad from the Rutgers 1000 Alumni Council opposing participation in the Big East Conference because the magazine had run ads supporting athletics.

(SPLC, Sept. 25, 2002)

 

(jjj) University of Pittsburgh: a Federal District Court on Feb. 13, 2003 upheld a 1996 Pennsylvania law banning liquor licensees from advertising in student newspapers at any educational institution. The Pitt News runs a list of drink specials in its news coverage to protest the restrictions.

(SPLC, Feb. 21, 2003; Pitt News v. Fisher, Civ. No. 99-529 (W.D. Pa. Feb. 14, 2003))

 

(kkk) University of Michigan: the Michigan Daily temporarily suspended ads for campustruth.org after students protested against the advertisements. The University of Chicago’s Chicago Maroon stopped running ads in Nov. 2002, while other campus newspapers have continued to publish the ads.

(Michigan Daily, March 24, 2003)

 

 

DEATH THREATS

COMMENT: Death threats can be a serious infringement of a free press, and must be addressed by campus authorities.

 

(lll) Onondaga Community College: the editor-in-chief, managing editor, business manager, and faculty adviser of the student newspaper, The Overview, resigned in January, 2003, after receiving harassing phone calls, vandalism to a car, and a death threat. The paper had reported on the arrest for theft of the student government treasurer, whose brother slapped newspaper staffers' heads with his penis in the office.

(SPLC, Feb. 26, 2003)

 

(mmm) Santa Rosa Junior College: after the Oak Leaf’s March 18 edition included an opinion piece titled, "Is Anti-Semitism Ever The Result Of Jewish Behavior?" the editor received four death threats and the Academic Senate passed a resolution calling for the Department of Communication Studies to review its curriculum and ethics. Newspaper staffers were locked out of their office unless they had faculty supervision. Anthropology professor Ben Benson called for the editor and newspaper adviser to resign and apologize.

(San Francisco Chronicle, May 8, 2003; SPLC, May 12, 2003)

 

PROTESTS AND FIRINGS

COMMENT: Protests against newspapers for what they print are part of freedom of speech, but calls for censorship of the campus press are disturbing, and can create a climate of self-censorship. Although newspaper editors have the right to hire and fire writers, this power can limit free expression, especially when it is done under outside pressure.

 

(nnn) Georgetown University (District of Columbia): Robert Swope, a columnist for the Hoya, was fired after writing a column that denounced Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues."

 

(ooo) Indiana University: The Commission on Multicultural Understanding gave an award to graduate student B. Afena Cobham, in part for calling on Indiana Daily Student to fire editor John Paul Benitez for publishing a cartoon critical of affirmative action. Cobham wrote, “he should be removed. His action is not protected free speech and has no place on a college campus."

The newspaper refused to print columns by Scott Dillon defending Benitez because of references to his critics. Dillon quit because of the censorship, but the newspaper did not fire Benitez (who is the summer 2003 opinion editor).

(demands of censorship, National Review report, investigations by Scott Dillon the story of censorship, Charlie Nelms, a Vice President/Vice Chancellor for Indiana University. A column from B. Afena Cobham)

 

(ppp) Miami University (Ohio): a student columnist for the Miami Student was fired after a January column attacked a class in the French Department for “pure pornography” in showing the French film Ridicule. Journalism professor Cheryl Heckler instructed the paper's student editor to fire the student columnist, who was accused of irresponsible reporting and refused to apologize.

(SPLC, Feb. 24, 2003; Cincinnati Enquirer, March 10, 2003)

 

(qqq) Reed College: two editors at The Reed College Quest resigned on Feb. 20, 2003 after students launched a recall petition campaign after one feature spoof asked about a professor, “Incendiary afrocentrist with alarmist concerns?”

(SPLC, March 6, 2003)

 

(rrr) San Diego State University: After an Oct. 10 column in The Daily Aztec criticized donor John Moores as one of the “greediest executives,” Moores asked the university to remove a plaque with his name on it from the campus grounds and promised to withdraw any future donations.

(SPLC, Dec. 20, 2002)

 

(sss) Texas Tech University: 200 people held a march to protest a column in the campus newspaper deemed racist because it questioned the validity of Black History Month. One protester noted, “If I pay to go to school here, I should not have to read a newspaper that degrades me, my culture and my heritage. I will bring this to the administration.”

(University Daily, Feb. 10, 2003)

 

(ttt) University of California at Davis: The California Aggie fired conservative columnist Igor Birman in part for his “tendency to enrage members of the opposing causes.” Birman sued for breach of contract, and received a $583.33 settlement. The editor declared that Birman was fired for the quality of his work, and was replaced as columnist with another conservative, but Birman considers his replacement “a so-called conservative who calls himself a progressive.”

(California Aggie, March 7, 2003; AIA Campus Report, March 2003)

 

(uuu) University of Hawaii at Manoa: satirical cartoons published in the Ka Leo 'O Hawai'i student newspaper were denounced for including the caption "Hitler wasn't all that bad a guy" and derogatory words for women, homosexuals, and Jews. Professor Michael Leitner, faculty adviser to Shaloha Hillel, demanded that cartoonist Casey Ishitani and Opinion editor Lance Collins be fired, and that the newspaper print a half-page apology, train all editors about civil rights, civil liberties and ethics.

(Honolulu Advertiser, March 16, 2003)

 

(vvv) University of Maryland: A Diamondback cartoon showed the word “stupidity” listed with three definitions, the third of which said, “Sitting in front of a bulldozer to protect a gang of terrorists.” The cartoon was a comment on the actions of Rachel Corrie, an Evergreen State College student killed as she tried to block an Israeli bulldozer from destroying a Palestinian’s home. Campus groups organized a sit-in blocking one of the entrances to the newspaper office.

(SPLC, April 3, 2003; http://www.inform.umd.edu/News/Diamondback/archives/2003/03/21/news3.html)

 

(www) University of Oregon: some students and faculty asked the university to end its athletic broadcast contract with KUGN-AM because it also runs “The Savage Nation,” a radio show deemed to be racist. University officials declared that they are not allowed to base a contract on the content of the station.

(AP, Dec. 16, 2002)

 

(xxx) Utica College (Syracuse University, New York): Five student editors of The Tangerine resigned in Nov. 2002 after being criticized by the dean of students and faced with budget cuts.

(SPLC Report, Winter 2002-03)

 

 

SUCCESS STORIES

COMMENT: Not every case involves limitation of press freedoms on college campuses. In some case, courts have widened freedom of the press, and administrators, faculty, and students have stood up strongly for freedom of the press.

 

(yyy) Massachusetts Institute of Technology: A state appeals court dismissed a libel suit against former student writer Avik Roy. Wellesley professor Tony Martin had sued Roy because of an error (later corrected) in a 1993 article for the Counterpoint, a conservative newspaper based at MIT.

Martin v. Roy, 767 N.E.2d 603 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002)

 

(zzz) University of Maryland-Baltimore County: after The Retriever Weekly published a satirical column about black history month that some called racist, university President Freeman A. Hrabowski III sent an email to the entire campus: “I contend that in a university, people should be encouraged to say or write whatever they believe — because it is difficult to examine or change attitudes if people never express their true beliefs.”

(SPLC Report, Spring 2003)

 

(aaaa) University of Missouri at St. Louis: the student government reversed its decision to deny $38,000 in funding to The Current after accusing it of paying staffers too much, printing incorrect information, and misquoting people. The newspaper had threatened to sue, claiming that its funds were cut because of disagreement with its content.

(SPLC, May 6, 2003)

 

(bbbb) University of North Carolina at Charlotte: The NCAA in Sept. 2002 reversed a policy that had forced campus newspapers to follow rules prohibiting colleges from disclosing information about recruits.

(SPLC, Oct. 1, 2002)

 

(cccc) Yeshiva University: a federal district court ruled in December, 2002, that student reporters have the same right as professional journalists to keep sources confidential. Pinchas Shapiro, a student editor of The Commentator, had refused to reveal confidential sources quoted in an article about a former administrator’s lawsuit against the university.

(SPLC, Jan. 6, 2003)

 

Back to 2002-03 State of Academic Freedom Report

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