Freedom of Repression

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Randall <rvh40 () insightbb com>
Date: July 8, 2005 7:53:15 PM EDT
To: Dave <dave () farber net>
Subject: Freedom of Repression


Freedom of Repression
New ruling will allow censorship of campus publications
By John K. Wilson
For almost five years, the Innovator newspaper at Governors State
University has been absent from the suburban Chicago campus, banished by
the administration's demands for prior approval of its content.

After a June 20 decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the
Innovator may never be seen again--and many other campus newspapers may
join it on the list of publications censored or eliminated for
questioning the status quo.

The decision in Hosty v. Carter demonstrates the threat that right-wing
judges pose to freedom of expression in America. The majority opinion,
written by conservative judge Frank Easterbrook and supported by other
conservative justices such as Richard Posner, is a classic example of
judicial activism. Easterbrook's convoluted opinion abandons
well-established precedents supporting the free expression rights of
college students, and gives college administrators near-absolute
authority to control the content of student newspapers.

The facts of the Hosty case are particularly appalling. On November 1,
2000, Governors State Dean Patricia Carter called the Innovator's
printer, attempting to stop the publication of the newspaper. When she
discovered that she was too late, she ordered the printer to give her
future newspapers before they were printed so that she could approve
content. Two days later, the president of the university wrote a
campus-wide memo denouncing the Innovator because of its coverage of the
firing of the newspaper's advisor (who later won an award for wrongful
dismissal). Editor-in-Chief Jeni Porche and managing editor Margaret
Hosty fought back, refusing to accept the administration's demands for
censorship.

Easterbrook built his logic upon the Supreme Court's 1988 Hazelwood
case, which gave high school principals limited authority to control
newspapers created in the classroom. Hazelwood has had a disastrous
impact, supporting censorship of the student press. The Hosty decision
not only applies Hazelwood to college students, but greatly expands the
scope of censorship to cover any newspaper or, potentially, any activity
subsidized with student fees.

The Hosty case is only part of the growing conservative attack on
freedom of speech on campus. An alternative newspaper at the University
of Wisconsin at Eau Claire was denied funding in 2005 because the
student government thought it was too "political." Arizona's state
budget for next year includes a ban on state appropriations for college
student newspapers after a campus sex column offended legislators.

And David Horowitz's Academic Bill of Rights has been introduced as
legislation in more than a dozen state legislatures; some versions of
the bill would compel grievance procedures at all public (and even
private) colleges to enable students to start investigations against
professors who express political views or who assign reading lists
deemed "too liberal." Horowitz has even threatened to sue Lehigh
University after it allowed Michael Moore to speak on campus last fall,
claiming that this violated the school's nonprofit status.

But the Hosty decision is so extreme in denying student liberties that
even conservatives are worried. Charles Mitchell, a program officer at
the right-leaning civil liberties group Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education, noted, "Hosty will give college administrators yet another
excuse to indulge their taste for squelching speech--and that's never a
good thing for liberty."

Although the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals only covers Illinois,
Wisconsin and Indiana, the decision will enable administrators across
the country to censor papers without penalty. Under the "qualified
immunity" standard, state officials are only liable for violating
constitutional rights when the law is clear, and the Hosty decision
raises serious doubts about whether college students have any rights.
And if administrators can legally treat college students the same as
elementary school students, what will happen to academic freedom?

The Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) president Irwin Gratz
said, "It is a sad day for journalism in the United States." The SPJ and
dozens of journalism groups joined an amicus brief in the case, urging
the 7th Circuit to defend freedom of the press on campus.

"My co-plaintiffs and I are resolved to appeal to the nation's highest
court," said Hosty.

--
"We've got the hatemongers who literally hate this president, and that
is so wrong. . . . The people who hate George Bush hate him because he's
a follower of Jesus Christ, unashamedly says so and applies his faith in
his day-to-day operations." -- Rev. Jerry Falwell, on C-SPAN's
"Washington Journal"



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