High school and college journalists already know they have the power to inform and enlighten.

 

At a March 10 McCormick Foundation meeting with Student Press Law Center Executive Director Frank LoMonte, about two dozen Chicago-area student journalists and educators were reminded that they also have the power to change the rules.

If students left with one message, it was to exercise their First Amendment rights whenever possible – and that understanding those rights is an ongoing process.

For young people today, this is particularly evident regarding the use of social media. LoMonte, formerly an award-winning investigative journalist, acknowledged that the ease of sites like Facebook and Twitter to spread information has led to ethically questionable crackdowns at some educational institutions.

The dialogue provided fuel for Columbia Chronicle editor-in-chief Lindsey Woods. A senior at Columbia College Chicago, Woods is trying to draft social media policy for the paper. “It’s a thin line,” she said. “You want to give people freedom, but you don’t want to jeopardize your standing as a newspaper.”

LoMonte offered students 5 key steps toward achieving free speech:

• Take ownership of your education, your community and your rights. Be as educated and skeptical a consumer of your education as you are of your electronics.
• Be your own best advocate. High school students have helped pass statutes to combat free speech restrictions dating back to the 1980s. Laws in seven states have arisen from students contacting their legislators, LoMonte said, and suggesting bills to fortify their free speech protection. Illinois has stronger laws at the college level. “At U. of I., you have legally protected press freedom,” he said, but not at the K-12 level.
• Private institutions are not covered by the First Amendment. At private institutions you may have to advocate for better freedom of speech rules. If Notre Dame expels you because of something on your Twitter feed, you don’t have the constitutional right to challenge that expulsion, he said. The group also discussed when it’s not OK to share information – for example, something discovered in a private meeting. “I might let people know it’s absolutely in our legal right to terminate people,” said Woods.
• Don’t publish first and verify later. Said LoMonte, “Verification is what sets journalism apart from gossip.”
• Use SPLC.ORG. LoMonte encouraged students to contact the center in Washington, D.C., for anything from assistance with First Amendment and copyright issues to help dealing with police officers.

The days when journalists could simply enter school grounds and talk to kids are behind us. “Who’s going to replace that news that professionals can’t get anymore, if schools are dirty or dangerous or overcrowded?” he asked. “You are it. We need you.”

Categories: Good to Know, News & Updates, Stuff for Students