Adviser hopes for spread of anti-Hazelwood legislation
by Karl Grubaugh
Hazelwood stories: On the 25th Anniversary of the Hazelwood decision, I can rejoice that it’s never applied to me. I live, teach and advise a scholastic newspaper in California, which has some of the strongest protections for student journalists and advisers in the nation.
But I know so many other advisers from across the country who are handcuffed, every day, by the heavy hand of the Hazelwood decision.
And the fact that Hazelwood is so often inappropriately applied by less-than-thoughtful administrators makes it that much worse.
And so, my hope on this anniversary is that it takes a lot less than 25 years to pass the same kind of strong First Amendment protection legislation across the country that I’ve enjoyed for my entire advising career.
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Tweet15: Know how to use public records
You have the right to information. Know how to use public records. #25HZLWD http://jeasprc.org/tweet15-know-how-to-use-public-records
Open records—in other words, the government information that is accessible to the public— vary by state. Sometimes, finding exactly what is public in your state is simply a matter of knowing what state statute details this information. Use the links below to find out which statute in your state gives more information:
http://www.splc.org/legalassistance/foiletter.asp
http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=15
Then, once you’ve identified a record you would like access to, make a verbal request first. If the record isn’t forthcoming, use the Student Press Law Center’s Freedom of Information letter generator to request your record:
http://www.splc.org/legalassistance/foiletter.asp
Sometimes, school officials will not release information because they claim it violates FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Use the link below to better understand what records are closed under FERPA, and what records you legally should have the right to access:
http://www.splc.org/pdf/ferpa_wp.pdf
Jan. 13 decision paralyzes student mood about journalism
by Brenda Gorsuch
Hazelwood stories: When I became the newspaper adviser at West Henderson High School in 1983, I loved telling my students about the Supreme Court’s Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District decision from 1969.
I enjoyed listening to them discuss the rights the First Amendment and the Court had guaranteed them. My students felt empowered. It was inspiring to watch the pride and spirit of responsibility they brought to their work on the Wingspan. At one point, an assistant superintendent in our school district tried to prevent my students from publishing an in-depth story on sex education, but our principal came to our defense. He reminded his boss of the Tinker decision and told her that his students understood their rights and responsibilities and that he supported their efforts.
Then came Jan. 13, 1988. We were shocked by the court’s decision in the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case. The mood in my classroom that day was so somber that an outsider would have thought someone had died. My students felt paralyzed. How could adults as knowledgeable and powerful as the Supreme Court justices think they were not entitled to their rights as citizens?
Over the weeks and months that followed, my young journalists became tentative and, at times, timid in pursuing stories that needed to be told. It was disheartening to watch their fearful second-guessing and self-censorship.
In the years since the Hazelwood decision, I have become even more convinced that the Supreme Court got it wrong. If we expect excellence and give students the opportunity to be responsible, they will rise to our expectations. I believe students should be allowed freedom of expression in their publications.
I can understand the Supreme Court’s concerns expressed in the Hazelwood decision, but I believe the justices expected too little of today’s youth. The publications at West Henderson have never been submitted for prior review by an administrator.
As their adviser, I continue to encourage my students to tackle important issues and to report them in a fair, accurate and balanced way. In spite of Hazelwood, my students continue to inspire me.
Read MoreTweet14: Use anonymous sources sparingly
Tweet-14–Use anonymous sources sparingly and have good reason for doing so. #25HZLWD http://jeasprc.org/tweet14-use-anonymous-sources-sparingly/
For any journalist, using anonymous sources creates a true predicament—one in which the newspaper’s credibility is on the line, and the reporter takes full responsibility for the authenticity and accuracy of whatever the anonymous source says. This is a difficult and precarious situation to be in, and it is one all student publications should enter only after careful consideration.
• Guide to using anonymous sources
http://www.jeasprc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SPRC-Foundation6-anon.pdf
How do you know when using an anonymous source is appropriate and justified? Consider our tips for using anonymous sources, and then be sure to create your own staff policy that dictates how and when anonymous sources are OK.
Read MoreSchool censorship costs advisers, students at Illinois student media
by Randy Swikle
Hazelwood stories: Here is a nutshell of Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois., and how Hazelwood diminished Barb Thill’s J-program:
In Illinois, all but four staff members of one of the nation’s most honored student newspapers quit the publication and dropped their journalism class after school officials publicly rebuked student reporters and their adviser, repeatedly censored accurate articles, revoked the “designated forum” status of the paper, adopted a policy of prior review and edited the paper themselves.
The adviser, a nationally recognized teacher, lost her position. (In a year’s time, two replacement advisers also lost their “newspaper adviser” assignments.)
In an editorial, the Chicago Tribune criticized school authorities and praised student journalists for the high quality of their censored work.
Read MoreStudents stop presses to tell Hazelwood story,
principal wears black armbands with them
by Terry Nelson
Hazelwood stories: Yorktown High School newspaper/ Broadcaster students of 1988, do you remember the Hazelwood First Amendment Supreme Court decision?
It was 25 years ago… Here’s how I recall our story…
I can’t believe it was 25 years ago. My students and I had discussed the Hazelwood case extensively in class, so on the day the results were supposed to be decided by the Supreme Court, I was teaching a night class at BSU, and unknown by me, my editors went to the Muncie newspaper’s office and were allowed to sit on the floor and wait as the news came over the AP wire (back then there weren’t computers used to transmit news yet).
When the decision came in and it was a judgment against the students, my own newspaper students tried to get ahold of me in class, but couldn’t (before cell phones too!), so they called the printer and literally “stopped the presses” on our Friday edition, went back to school and started rewriting the front page with the Hazelwood decision and the impact on all sorts of First Amendment student situations at school.
At 10 p.m. when I returned home, a couple of kids were waiting outside, tapping on my windows. When they came in and explained all that they had done, I was so proud.
But the story isn’t over yet. We decided we would call the entire staff and ask them to wear black tomorrow (Friday) when the paper came out to signify our mourning for the “death of student rights.”
We also decided to call our principal, Dr. Jerry Secttor, and he agreed to wear black too. We had our group picture with the principal taken outside the front office by the American Flag in black the next morning.
The printer had already printed the front page of the paper announcing the resignation of our school superintendent before the students’ call, so we had TWO editions of the paper to distribute to the students that day.
I love high school students. I love quality high school journalism programs. And I love the sense of reality and importance our students’ journalism study produces.
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