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FIRST VOICES



Little things mean a lot at the Newseum
Indianapolis Star column
by Warren Watson

J-Ideas Director Warren Watson blogs regularly for the Indianapolis Star. Here are his latest offerings:

Landmark First Amendment Research
with School Principals launched at Ball State

Ball State’s First Amendment institute has launched a landmark research project with 5,000 high school principals nationwide.

J-Ideas, a 5-year-old effort to support student journalism and First Amendment awareness, is reaching out to 5,000 principals to gauge their knowledge level and support for the First Amendment of the Constitution. The research coincides with Sunshine Week, a national effort to support Freedom of Information, an important principle of the First Amendment. <more>

-Campus free-speech thrives

-Ignoramcer in Palin, Dowd free-speech remarks

-Plainfield pays respect to First Amendment

-Banned Books Week

-Palin-tology

-Author creates First Amendment 'primer'

-New President must revive Constitution

-Traditional news misses Edwards escapade

-Protesters' rights fenced off

-Social networking pitfalls

-Bad year for traditional news gatherers

-Baseball and the First Amendment

-Principals and the First Amendment

-Remembering a crusader

-Photo ID law bad for voters

-Thoughts from the annual U.S. editors convention

-Need for print journalism remains

-Sunshine:now more than ever

-Mean-spirited fans

-Peter Jennings' legacy

-The First Amendment at the Alamo

-A New museum for news

-Author creates First Amendment 'primer'

-Unlikely First Amendment hero

-Harrison represented Hoosiers proudly

-Online course wraps for the fall

-Religious freedom for all

-Reading is FUN-damental

-Nothing negative

-Blogs grow in influence, but beware of anonymity

-Parent rides the bench after blog posting

-Student journalist's actions serves profession poorly

-Examining free speech online

-Remembering the courageous Elijah Parish Lovejoy

-First Amendment protects unpopular speech, too

Student journalists scoop professional press

By Gerry Appel

In an era where student journalists are often criticized for poor decision-making, one student newspaper should receive praise after scooping its professional counterparts. <more>

-Principal wrong in pulling paper

Mile high with the First Amendment...

By Randy Swikle

We were north of the Mile High City near the Rocky Mountains. The principals were voluntarily descending—not from the tall peaks but from their position abutting the summit of school hierarchy. When they reached level ground, we could see each other more clearly. And clear sight leads to insight. <more > 

SPLC Exec. Director talks to Ball State students about 'Digital Freedom'

Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center and former journalist, spoke at the first Professional in Residence of the year Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Coinciding with Constitution Day, the speaker addressed the subject "Digital Freedom: A Look at Issues Affecting Student Free Speech in the Internet."
"We're focusing on the First Amendment because it is necessary," according to Warren Watson, director of J-Ideas, which was responsible for bringing in LoMonte,
"Incoming college freshman are completely clueless when it comes to the First Amendment."

Seventy-five percent of high school students polled…admit they take the First Amendment for granted, or simply don't care. Fifty percent think that the government has the right to censor the internet."

LoMonte discussed how the Internet represents a new frontier in student free speech.

"The next generation of student speech litigation is what can and can't be said online," he said.

Courts are now setting precedents that are expanding the rights of schools to off-campus speech and, directly, on-campus press speech.

Two cases that have caught the attention of the SPLC, have set conflicting precedents. In Connecticut, the case of Doninger v. Niehoff resulted in a ruling where Doninger was subject to punishment from the school for content she posted online in a blog concerning a disagreement she had with the school principal.

"We think that, again, it's a dangerous overreach if you let the school say 'you can't talk about school affairs on a blog off-campus'" LoMonte said. "Then what you are really saying is that students don't ever have First Amendment rights."
In Pennsylvania, the case Layshock v. Hermitage School District, which the SPLC aided, ruled in favor of Layshock, who made a parody MySpace profile of his principal.

"The District Court of Pennsylvania agreed with [Layshock's argument] saying, 'You are right. When you are off campus, on your own time, on your own property, using your own computer, you have the full benefit of the First Amendment, and school can't regulate that speech' . . . This case is now in appeals, and if this case gets decided like [the SPLC] hopes it gets decided, you now have two neighboring circuits that have very opposite views of the reach of the First Amendment. And that's when the Supreme Court gets involved."

Watson, in his closing remarks, reminded students that they're "only a few decisions away from a completely different political environment, and it's wonderful to be an American and to be able to speak up."

"I hope that through the lecture students will begin to think more about digital free speech. The first reaction of people who are officials, whenever a new form of expression comes along, is to seek to censor it. I think LoMonte was able to give us a perspective that the best thing to do is learn how to use it responsibly rather than squash it."