Student newspaper

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A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, or middle school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news. Working for one's high school newspaper is sometimes an extracurricular activity, but often, journalism classes are offered. Journalism students learn about the journalistic profession and also produce the paper. Some schools have a basic class in which students only learn about newspapering, and a class that produces the newspaper.

1 First Amendment protections for student media in the United States
- 1.1 High school vs. college student press rights
2 Student press status in Canada
3 Student press status in the United Kingdom
4 Cartoons controversy in student publications
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] First Amendment protections for student media in the United States

Student press in the United States is protected in part by United States Supreme Court decisions such as Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District and Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, and numerous other decisions, including those at the regional and state levels.

Some states have laws which enhance the U.S. Constitution in protecting student expression. For a more detailed review of state and national student press rights, see the Student Press Law Center's site here.

[edit] High school vs. college student press rights

Hazelwood and Tinker offer conflicting versions of student free expression. Student-directed publications may indeed be considered open or limited public forums for student expression, offering students freedom of expression under both Hazelwood and Tinker.

Hazelwood, for example, does not say administrators must prior review or censor their papers. In fact, journalism education organizations, like the Journalism Education Association, argue that prior review has no legitimate educational merit and is only a tool leading to censorship.

Under certain limited conditions and situations presented by Hazelwood, school administrators may be permitted prior review of (mostly high school) student publications.

Until June 2005, the Hazelwood standard was not considered to apply to public college and university newspapers, a decision most recently affirmed in the 2001 appeals court decision in Kincaid v. Gibson. However, in June 2005, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, in Hosty v. Carter, that the Hazelwood standard could apply to student publications that were not "designated public forums," and in February 2006 the Supreme Court declined to hear the students' appeal. At this time, the Hosty decision applies only in the states of Illinois (including Chicago), Indiana and Wisconsin.

Controversy over alleged censorship actions has led some student newspapers to become independent organizations, such as The Daily Californian of the University of California, Berkeley in 1971, The Independent Florida Alligator of the University of Florida in 1973, and The Cavalier Daily of the University of Virginia in 1979.

[edit] Student press status in Canada

Many student newspapers in Canada are truly independent from their universities and student unions. Such autonomous papers are funded by student fees won by referenda, as well as advertising, and are run democratically by their staffs, with no faculty interference.

About 70 of Canada's student newspapers belong to a co-operative and newswire service called the Canadian University Press, which holds conferences, has correspondents across the country, is run democratically by its member papers, and fosters a sense of community among Canadian student journalists.

Well-known Canadian student newspapers include The Martlet, the Ubyssey and The Peak in British Columbia; The Gateway in Alberta; the Carillon in Saskatchewan; the Manitoban in Manitoba; The Charlatan, The Varsity and the Excalibur in Ontario; the Link and the McGill Daily in Quebec; The Brunswickan in New Brunswick; the Gazette in Nova Scotia, and the Muse in Newfoundland and Labrador.

[edit] Student press status in the United Kingdom

Student newspapers in the UK are also largely independent of the universities and student unions whose students they represent. The most successful (in terms of student media awards) include: The Oxford Student, The Cherwell (University of Oxford), gair rhydd (Cardiff University), Leeds Student (University of Leeds), yorkVision (University of York), The Steel Press (University of Sheffield), Varsity and The Cambridge Student (University of Cambridge).

[edit] Cartoons controversy in student publications

Further information: Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

Gair rhydd courted controversy when, on 4 February 2006, it reproduced the cartoons, originally printed in Jyllands-Posten, depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The issue was withdrawn from publication within a day of being released, the editor and two other student journalists were suspended, and a public apology published in the next issue.

In the same month, two editors of the Daily Illini, the independent student newspaper of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, were suspended after deciding to publish six of the twelve cartoons. Editor-in-chief Acton Gorton was later fired; the reason originally given by the paper's board of directors was that Gorton did not alert other editors to his decision, although it was later discovered that several of those editors did know about the plan in the hours leading to the paper's publication.

However, student publications took a lead role in reprinting the Muhammad cartoons, often accompanying them with explanatory editorials. No fewer than 16 student newspapers and magazines in the United States, and a handful in other countries, ran one or more of the offending caricatures.