Student journalists need the 聽as much as their adult counterparts do, but they don鈥檛 always get the same protection.
In 1988, when the Supreme Court ruled in , students鈥� free speech rights were left in the hands of administrators who could exercise 鈥渆ditorial control over the style and content of student speech in school-sponsored expressive activities.鈥�
College journalist Kelcey Caulder tells how such editorial control feels:
鈥淚鈥檓 21 and a college journalist now, and I still feel pressure to write about things that other people deem appropriate rather than what I think is important or even relevant to my experience. But sometimes I remember鈥� 鈥淐ongress shall make no law鈥bridging the freedom of speech, or of the press鈥濃�攁nd I wonder why these rights do not seem to apply to me. Aren鈥檛 I American, too?鈥�
But there鈥檚 hope. States are able to make laws more lenient than the Hazelwood ruling, laws that would give student journalists the same 听补苍诲 speak enjoyed by adult journalists.
The 聽is helping educators, students, and community members to work to have their states pass this legislation:
鈥渢he New Voices Act, [http://newvoicesus.com/the-legislation/ ]a comprehensive educational legislation that will鈥�
鈥� restore the Tinker standard of student expression in public high schools. TheTinker Standard (1967) protects student speech unless it is libelous, an invasion of privacy or creates a 鈥渃lear and present danger鈥� or a 鈥渕aterial and substantial disruption鈥� of the school.
鈥� protect public colleges from dangerous court interpretations that apply the Hazelwood standard to higher education, where almost all students involved are adults.
鈥� extend the expression rights that public college students expect to students at private colleges.鈥�
听补苍诲 聽are underway in a number of other states.
Join and our assembly ,聽won鈥檛 you, and advocate for legislation in your state.