College paper lawsuit fails
Federal court backs Governors State dean
By Rudolph Bush
Chicago Tribune
June 21, 2005

In a case with wider implications for college newspapers and their inevitable struggles with the administrations they cover, a full panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against Governors State University filed by two student journalists who were sharply critical of the school's president and a dean.

The suit, filed in January 2001, came on the heels of an administration crackdown on the student newspaper, the Innovator, that saw the dean of student affairs, Patricia Carter, call on the printer to stop publishing it without her personal review and approval of its content.

The paper's editor-in-chief, Jeni Porche, and a reporter, Margaret Hosty, filed suit against a number of administration officials, claiming their First Amendment rights were violated. The lower court dismissed claims against everyone but Carter, who was most directly responsible for the administration's increased control over the paper.

Monday's 7-4 opinion reversed that decision and dismissed the suit against Carter as well, ruling that she should not be liable for "constitutional uncertainties" stemming from her decision to shut down the Innovator.

But in reaching its decision on Carter's liability, the court broadly applied case law to college papers that traditionally has covered only high school and elementary school publications, a distinction that has long given college papers more leeway in what their student editors decide to publish.

Because the Innovator was published under the auspices of Governors State, the university has a right to reasonable regulation of its content, the court ruled.

"Let us not forget that academic freedom includes the authority of the university to manage an academic community and evaluate teaching and scholarship free from interference by other units of government, including the courts," Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote for the majority.

Writing in dissent, Judge Terence Evans noted that the decision "applies limitations on speech that the Supreme Court created for use in narrow circumstances of elementary and secondary education."

"These restrictions on free speech rights have no place in the world of college and graduate school," he concluded.

Hosty learned of the decision Monday afternoon and said she and Porche will appeal.

"It's disastrous," she said. "This isn't limited to journalists."

Hosty and Porche represented themselves through their appeal, although friend-of-the-court briefs were filed on their behalf by a number of organizations, including the Student Press Law Center.

"What this court did was give administrators who want to censor their student papers a leg to stand on," said law center Executive Director Mark Goodman.

The decision was welcomed by the Illinois attorney's general office, which defended Carter.

The office argued that Carter should not be liable for understanding a hazy area of constitutional law, Solicitor General Gary Feinerman said. "We're in favor of press freedom for college students," he said. "But the law was so unclear. ... Dean Carter could not be held liable."