OREGON — An Oregon state House of Representatives committee
heard testimony on a proposed student press freedom
bill March 29, which has now
become the only bill in the nation that would offer protection to both high
school and college students under one statute.
The student press freedom
bill, HB 3279, was introduced by Rep. Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) on March 13 and
would protect both high school and college students from censorship by school
officials. The bill, modeled after a similar bill that was introduced by
Washington state Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-Des Moines), was intended to
"strengthen and clarify" any existing expression laws in the state, Galizio
said.
The Washington bill was amended March 30 by the Washington state
Senate Judiciary Committee to only apply to public college
students.
Confederation of School Administrators Governmental Relations
Director Chuck Bennett spoke against the bill, stating that in his experience as
a newspaper reporter, editor and adjunct journalism professor, he learned that
"the company runs the newspaper."
"They determined what went into that
newspaper," Bennett said. "Whether I was editor or reporter, they owned the
newspaper."
He also said that he would like to pursue discussion with
Galizio in developing an outline of how a governmentally funded publication,
such as a high school student newspaper, should run, while still allowing
students to express themselves.
Oregon School Board Association
Legislative and Public Affairs Specialist David Williams also testified against
the bill, voicing his concerns for possible lawsuits erupting over conflicts
concerning prior review, questionable content and editorial
decisions.
American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon Executive Director
David Fidanque testified in support of the bill, but also offered concerns for
the bill's provisions. He said that the bill does not provide for damage claims
to be filed by students, which would allow students to pursue claims after they
have graduated.
Fidanque told the story of one case that was heard by the
Oregon Supreme Court nearly three years after a censorship incident, but was not
ruled on because the students were no longer in school and the court declared
the case moot. Fidanque said the court noted that Oregon laws protect
free expression, but there was "no case or controversy" to be decided as
required by the declaratory judgment provision.
"Ideally, the ACLU would
like to have a mechanism to determine whether student have constitutional rights
in Oregon and what those rights are," Fidanque said. "To be able to pursue that,
we would have to have a statute that would allow students to sue for violations
of their state constitutional rights and would at least allow for recovery of
nominal damages."
The language of the bill may not be perfect, but
Fidanque said that student censorship needs to be addressed and that "the
problem is very real."
Other testimonies expanded on the existing problem
of student censorship in the state.
Tiffany Fegel, editor of the
Mountain Echoes at Sandy High School in Sandy, Oregon, discussed the need
to promote journalism and educate journalism students because of the decreasing
popularity of print journalism.
"The newspaper is becoming obsolete,
especially [with] students; our readership is not the highest," Fegel said. "We
are encouraged to cover things that would interest our readers. It’s hard
to do this when we have to be careful of whose toes we’re stepping
on."
Echoes Adviser J.D. McIntire, who is also a member of the
Oregon Journalism Education Association, said that a bill such as this could
push school officials to shut down student newspapers to avoid
lawsuits.
"I fear leaving the situation I have in Sandy," McIntire said.
"My principal’s attitude is that you can cover anything you want as long
as you cover it well. We have to get officials to understand that fear is not a
good determinator of curriculum. This is an issue of making the paper inside the
school work."
Molly Bedford, managing editor of the University of
Oregon's
Daily Emerald, and Lauren Dillard, editor in chief of the Oregon
State University
Daily Barometer, said that as independent newspapers,
they exercise editorial freedom that many other state public colleges do not
have. Dillard challenged the committee to consider student publications as
having the same civic responsibility as any privately owned
newspaper.
"It’s the job of the news media to ask questions,"
Dillard said. "I have been taught at OSU [the media is] the Fourth Estate; we
are the watchdog for the government. It is a shame that our laws do not reflect
that. You know have the power to change that."
Some of the state
representatives also spoke on issues of censorship as former
journalists.
Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Greg Macpherson (D-Lake
Oswego) said that the issue "resonates" with him, as he was a former editor of
an off-campus newspaper that was started in response to censorship at his high
school.
Rep. Ben Cannon (D-Portland) is an American history and civics
teacher, and was editor in chief of his college newspaper. During that time, he
said he and his staff worked with his school to develop a policy to gain more
journalistic independence, which led the staff to become independent of the
school and its funding.
"It was a real lesson in the rights that student
journalists actually have," Cannon said. "That free market place of ideas does
so much or our country and has historically. It can ensure that the diversity of
views are heard."
By Erica Hudock, SPLC staff writer
