Marcy Burstiner has created a blog called Center for Campus Investigations at
http://campusinvestigations.blogspot.com/
It has the step by step plan for carrying out an investigation at a campus newspaper that she went through in her presentation Saturday. Many students asked her for materials from the presentation.
Here is the press release for the press conference that was held at the convention on Feb. 29, 2008. It is provided here as a resource for student media outlets covering the legislation. Contact information is below.
For Immediate Release:
February 29, 2008
Contact: Adam J. Keigwin
(916) 651-4008, (916) 256-5758
Yee Introduces Bill to Protect Journalism Teachers, Student Speech
Legislation follows 2006 law that protects students to also protect teachers
SAN FRANCISCO – At the National College Newspaper Convention in San Francisco today, Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) announced legislation to protect high school and college teachers from retaliation by administrators as a result of student speech, which most often happens when a journalism teacher or professor is disciplined for content in a student newspaper. Senate Bill 1370 follows a 2006 law authored by Yee which prohibits censorship of college press by administrators and protects students from being disciplined for engaging in speech or press activities.
There have been a number of documented cases throughout the state of journalism advisors being dismissed or reassigned due to student speech. In fact, Senator Yee’s office has learned of cases in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Claremont, Fremont, Novato, Oxnard, Rialto, and Garden Grove.
“California has always led the way in making sure true freedom of the press is alive and well on our campuses,” said Yee. “Allowing a school administration to censor in any way is contrary to the democratic process and the ability of a student newspaper to serve as the watchdog and bring sunshine to the actions of school administrators. It is quite disheartening to hear, that after we specifically prohibited prior restraint by administrators, that some are engaging in this type of nefarious activity and even firing quality teachers because of content in the student newspaper.”
Specifically, SB 1370 would prohibit an employee from being dismissed, suspended, disciplined, reassigned, transferred, or otherwise retaliated against for acting to protect a student’s speech.
A Los Angeles Unified School District case is one of many where a highly respected and successful newspaper advisor was removed from his position. In November 2006, the student newspaper published an editorial criticizing random searches conducted on campus. The newspaper advisor, Darryl Adams, was immediately removed after refusing to eliminate the editorial at the principal’s request. Adams was later removed as basketball coach and even as announcer for the football games.
“In a span of four months, they all but stripped me of my professional existence,” said Adams.
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Another case involved Janet Ewell, a Garden Grove tenured teacher and certified journalism educator, who was removed as newspaper advisor in 2002 despite her students winning numerous journalism awards. The schools principal admitted to student reporters that he had removed Ewell as a result of editorials that ran in the school newspaper. The editorials focused on such issues as the school bathrooms, cafeteria food and a teacher who was unavailable to help students.
Ronnie Campagna, a journalism teacher of 18 years at San Marin High School in Novato, was removed in 2003 and replaced by a new teacher with no previous journalism experience after the student paper published stories critical of the administration. For example, one story criticized the school administration for not letting students stand up in the bleachers during varsity basketball games. The school board went so far as to attempt dissolving the entire program until parents protested and even offered to fund the class themselves.
In San Francisco, journalism and English teacher Katharine Swan was told that she must find a different school in which to teach after her students covered a first-year principal’s attempts to effect prior restraint and influence coverage of events occurring at the school.
“Since administrators are unable by law to exercise prior restraint with regard to a student publication, they lean on advisers to do what they legally cannot,” said Jim Ewert, Legal Counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association. “When advisers refuse, they are punished because administrators know they will face no legal consequences. SB 1370 is necessary to close this gaping loophole in the law.”
The bill is expected to pass the State Legislature and be signed by the Governor. In fact, in signing Yee’s 2006 law, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Los Angeles) said, “Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of our democracy. Students working on college newspapers deserve the same rights afforded to every other student journalist.”
SB 1370 will be considered by the Senate in March.
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Thanks to everyone who attended the San Francisco convention and helped make it a success. About 775 students and advisers registered for the convention, one of our highest totals ever for this event.
Best of Show winners, including our first ever convention awards for online media, were announced on Sunday morning and you can find them here.
For those registered for the New Media Workshop on Friday, here are the details:
The workshop will be held on the campus of San Francisco State University in the Humanities Building, Room 403. We have arranged for a bus to transport you from the Holiday Inn Golden gateway to the SFSU campus. The bus will depart from the front of the hotel at 8:30 a.m. The bus will pick you up at the campus at 3 p.m. and bring you back to the hotel. If you miss the bus in the morning, go to the registration desk for instructions. If you miss the bus in the afternoon, you can take the BART subway back; get off at Powell Street Station and walk back to the hotel.
Lunch is included in your registration fee. It will be delivered to the classroom at noon.
You should be able to return Friday afternoon in time for the final session or just after it starts. Get the most out of this convention!
If you have questions, see us at the registration desk in the lower lobby of the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway.
If you’re coming to the convention in San Francisco, here are a couple of Friday night entertainment possibilities just for ACP delegates.
The staff of the Golden Gate [X]press newspaper at San Francisco State University is hosting “Welcome to the City, ACP!” a networking party for Bay Area college media and ACP convention attendees. The party will be from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday at the Sip Bar and Lounge, 787 Broadway Street (must be 21+ to enter).
Earlier on Friday evening, National Geographic will host a screening of “U23D” at the Metreon theater in downtown San Francisco. Members of the production team are scheduled to participate in a post-screening press conference. Tickets are required and will be distributed Friday. Transportation from the hotel will be provided. Details will be available from the sponsor in the exhibit area of the convention hotel.
Friday’s keynote speaker, Andrew Lam, will have copes of his book available for purchase and signing immediately following the keynote presentation at about 12:15 p.m. in the Gold Rush Ballroom.
The book, “Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora,” (heyday books, 2005) won the Pen American/Beyond Margins Award 2006. The price is $15. Learn more about it from Amazon.com.
Two sessions have been added to the program for Saturday afternoon. Check the rest of the program by downloading it.
1:30 to 2:35 p.m. / Monterey/Carmel
Cutting Edge Design
Want to take your newspaper pages beyond the conventional? See what the pros are doing to catch reader’s attention and make pages pop.
Randy Stano, University of Miami
2:45 to 3:45 p.m. / Monterey/Carmel
Advanced Lead Writing: Beyond the Five W’s
How to write leads that are clever, creative and compelling and boost your copy by using magazine writing techniques and literary journalism to enhance your writing.
Jeff Brody, California State University, Fullerton
The Associated Collegiate Press wishes to thank the sponsors and exhibitors listed below for their generous contributions to help enhance the program at our convention.
College Media Network, Opening Student and Adviser Receptions
Managing Editor, Inc., Friday coffee and snacks
City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, Saturday Adviser Luncheon
National Geographic Green Guide, convention tote bags
National Geographic, movie screening of “U23D”
Other exhibitors:
Be sure to stop by the trade show and visit with exhibitors on Thursday evening, all day Friday and Saturday morning.
So you’re all signed up for the ACP Midwinter National College Newspaper Convention in San Francisco. We wanted to give you a few reminders to ensure a smooth convention. Check out the convention program, available now at our Web site — it tells you where and when to show up. Our convention blog also has last-minute changes.
FOR A SMOOTH CHECK-IN
If you have four or more rooms reserved, please contact John Parr at the San Francisco Holiday Inn Golden Gateway to provide him with a list of who is staying in each room. The phone number is (415) 441-4000. This will greatly assist the hotel staff in preparing your keys and assigning your rooms.
FOR A BETTER EXPERIENCE
We still have spots available in our newsroom management, advertising, design and reporting short course workshops on Thursday and the New Media Workshop on Friday. If you have not signed up and want to, contact Mike in our office at (612) 625-1857 or mike (at) studentpress (dot) org and he will add that to your registration.
FOR A CHANCE AT AN AWARD
Enter our Best of Show contests. Bring your newspaper or podcast to the convention. We also have two new contests, Web sites and interactive online media. Sign up for all Best of Show contests by 4 p.m. Friday.
NO REFUNDS BUT SUBS ALLOWED
If you get close to the convention and realize someone cannot attend, be sure to get a substitute. ACP does not allow refunds for the convention registration, but we do allow substitutions.
PLEASE PAY ON TIME
We have around 700 people already registered for the convention, and most have already paid. Help us avoid a lot of invoices and reminders by sending in your payment or bringing a check to the convention. It really does help!
QUESTIONS?
Give us a call at (612) 625-8335 or send e-mail to info (at) studentpress (dot) org and we’ll do our best to get you an answer.
If you’re planning on going to the ACP National College Newspaper Convention in San Francisco in two weeks, now you can start figuring out how to make the most of the convention experience. Click here to download the convention program in PDF format.
If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still plenty of time to register online or on-site.