Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_ Vol. 93, No. 15JVtoH-dclV September 13, 1999_ ina Community since 1Q08 www.gamecock.sc.edu UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH Carolina • Columbia, s.c. Kincaid vs. Gibson Federal court upholds yearbook censorship by Clayton Kale Associate News Editor A federal court of appeals upheld the censorship and confiscation of2,000 yearbooks by Kentucky State Uni versity on Wednesday. # Citing “poor quality” and displeasure with the year book’s cover, the KSU administration locked the year books away, refusing to release them to the students. The student publication adviser, Laura Cullen, was also demoted to a secretarial position after she refused to censor a letter to the editor in KSU’s student news paper, The Thorobread News, at the request of Vice Pres ident of Student Affairs Betty Gibson. Cullen claimed that her demotion was in retaliation for not censoring the letter at Gibson’s request. The yearbook was paid for with an estimated $9,000 in student activity fees. Former Thorobread yearbook editor and Thorobread News staff writer Capri Coffer, along with KSU student Charles Kincaid, filed suit against Gibson and the KSU Board of Regents in November 1995, saying their First and 14th Amendment rights were violated. Coffer and Kincaid also sued for breach of contract Abased on KSU’s refusal to distribute yearbooks, which had been paid for with mandatory student activity fees. Wednesday’s decision in Kincaid vs. Gibson had an immediate effect on student media departments in states of the Sixth Circuit (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Ten nessee). I For more than 30 years before Wednesday’s deci sion, high courts consistently ruled that college journal ists shared the same First Amendment rights that com mercial news media have. “This decision represents an almost 180-degree turn from the strong First Amendment protections that have traditionally been afforded public college student me dia,” said Mark Goodman, executive director of the Stu dent Press Law Center. The landmark case found precedent in a 1988 Supreme Court decision in the Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier. Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier states that high school officials can censor school-sponsored publications if they can give reasonable evidence that they have a “le gitimate,” educational reason for their actions. Items that can be censored in high school newspa pers under the Hazelwood decision include any mater ial deemed “ungrammatical,” “poorly written,” “inap propriate” or “inconsistent with the shared values of a civilized social order.” The decision in Kincaid vs. Gibson is the first time a federal court of appeals has used the Hazelwood deci sion to justify the censorship of the college press. The court’s decision met sharp criticism from na tional journalism education oiganizations. Representatives from every public college or uni versity in the Sixth Circuit that has an accredited jour nalism program filed a friend-of-the-court brief asking that the decision be reversed. Two other friend-of-the-court briefs were filed by civil rights interest groups and professional news media groups. Judge Alan E. Norris wrote for the majority, “the Court in Hazelwood noted ... that if the school did not intentionally create a public forum, then the publication remains a nonpublic forum, and school officials may im pose any reasonable... restriction on student speech ex hibited therein.” The court ruled that the yearbook had not been clear ly established as a public forum and could therefore be censored by schopl officials. The court agreed that the yearbook was of poor qual ity and sided with the administration’s efforts to confis cate the yearbooks. In his written opinion, Norris said, “it is no doubt reasonable that KSU should seek to maintain its image to potential students, alumni and the general public. In Lawsuit sec page 2 Kincaid vs. Gibson: A History The Sixth Circuit’s decision in Kincaid vs. Gibson had an immediate effect on student media departments in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Courts across the country, including - those in S.C., can use the case as rationale in future decisions. 1 1 I _ : Brad Walters Graphics Editor ’ Kentucky denies USC an overtime victory Sunday at Stone Stadium. .- ■■■•■ - a —---a S-S---—......-I—B— . Sean Rayford photo editor USC players watch as the Kentucky goalkeeper blocks a shot on goal. USC fought a tough fight, eventually losing to Kentucky 2-1 in over time play. USC is 3-2 for the season. Horseshoe courts recently renovated by Charles Prashaw Staff Weiter Horseshoe residents have a better place to play basketball, thanks to & renovation project proposed and financed by Student Government and Campus Recreation. Renovations were finished over the summer to the basketball court next to the Woodrow residence hall. The $3,500 project included fixing old poles and putting up new nets and rims. “The courts were in a poor condition ever since I was a freshman,” said SG Spe cial Projects Director Timothy Clardy, a graduate student, who first proposed the renovations. “Horseshoe students need a place if they want to go in their back yard and play ball.” The renovation project began in the spring earlier this year after Clardy gained support for the project from the student senate and contacted Director of Campus Recreation Hubert Camp to ask for help in financing the project. The cost for the renovations came from the Campus Recre ation budget. Any money needed for fur ther repairs will come from the same bud get, which has also provided for projects like putting a weight room in Columbia Hall. According to Camp, the renovated site was already a haskethall court which made it easy and less expensive to repair. Business junior Alan Wfelch thinks the court restoration is a good idea. “At first, the only [problem with the renovation] was the rocks that weien’ 11 cleaned up made it hard to play,” Welch said. While a renovated basketball court might be good news to some students, oth ers have concerns about the possible noise pollution. “IT m glad there is another place to play, but it is necessary to limit the times, because this is an academic environment,” said SG Sen. Chris Ballou, a Woodrow resident. Camp said the court will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. to lessen the noise . concerns. The hours will be reinforced by the court T s lack of lighting and a sign, to be posted at the court in a couple of weeks, giving the court’ Is hours and re stricting die court’ Is use to USC students. “We meet with the Horseshoe RHA over similar concerns over noise pollu tion,” Camp said. “We have had no complaints so far,” said James Davis, the Horseshoe residence hall director. “But USC police will han dle any problems if they come up.” As of now, there are no similar pro jects in the works, but Campus Recreadon is now finishing the new Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center, scheduled to nnpn in fall 9001 Dining Services not extending service hours ^ by Blake Williams Staff Writer USC Dining Services reports that i has no immediate intention of extend ing its dining hours. According to Managing Director Brat Masteller* Dining Services has fount late-night operations unprofitable. Chic-Fil-A , for example, operatet at a significant loss when it stayed oper until 2 a.m. during the spring semester’! final-exam week. Masteller said the operation was mort of a service than anything else. “If we thought there was enough in terest, we would explore late-night ser vices, but the interest doesn’t seem to be there,” Masteller said. However, some students are ex pressing an interest in late-night dining. Many students are wondering why Din ing Services is not extending its hours. “I am usually up really late, and it would, certainly help out if I could order on my meal plan,” international studies Dining see page 2 SAGE increases membership, involvement by Laura DeWitt Staff Writer Students Allied for a Greener Earth is succeeding in its efforts for an increase in membership and in volvement, according to club president Holly Selvig. At the end of last year, SAGE had 20 active mem bers. Selvig said they have doubled its membership to 40, students with 160 interested in joining. With the new school year, Selvig said SAGE is focus ing on recruitment. One way Selvig suggested to increase member ship was to make everything fun. At SAGE’s first meet ing on Tuesday, treasurer Shannon Cox discussed the projects the organization would take on this year. A civil disobedience training session is one of the prospective spring projects. Selvig said the nonviolence training would better prepare members for further protests. She used the ex ample of a group of students from Iowa who chained themselves to stop signs during a protest at Home De pot. “It would help us learn not to kick them [po lice],” Selvig said. The training sessions would include simulations where students would practice their role-playing skills. Selvig said the members would split into groups of pro testers, police officers and employees. Then, the stu dents would leam how to deal with various situations they might encounter,during a protest. Vice president Sara Van Wye said they were unsure of actual plans of the training sessions, but suggested the idea at the meeting to get more people interested in the organization. -., . i-,. wi...-»■»...■ ....— The organization’s biggest accomplishment to date was the agreement of Home Depot to stop selling old growth wood. SAGE assisted the Rainforest Action Net work in a nationwide protest of Home Depot. Selvig said she thinks that every organization or group that assisted in the protest nationwide should feel that they made a difference in the fight to save the rain forests because every little bit helps. SAGE held peaceful demonstrations during last Oc tober and on St. Patrick’s Day in the parking lot of the Home Depot on Harbison Boulevard. SAGE mem bers told customers of the damage the store is causing the rain forests and asked them to sign postcards ad dressed to the CEO of Home Depot that voiced their concern. Sage SEE PAGE 2 -K i. v. — 1-aLj Weather Inside Datebook Online Poll Today 84 58 Tuesday 84 69 Columnist i examines I faith in his generation. | Page 5 Today Gamecock news meet ing, 4 p.m. RH333; Fra ternity Council, 4 p.m. RH 322/326; Sorority Council, 5 p.m. RH 322/326; Organiza tion Renewal & Treasurers Workshop, 3:30 - 5 p.m., RH Ballroom (6-7:30 p.m. for sports clubs only) Tuesday SAGE, 8 p.m., RH315; AAAS, 6 p.m. RH The ater; FOCUS, 8:15 p.m. Women’s Club; S.C. Student Legislature, 9 p.m.; Dance Marathon, 8 p.m.; Spring Board, 5:30 p.m ; RHA, 7 p.m. RH 307 How will the Gamecocks do this season? Go to www.gamecock.sc.edu to vote in this week’s poll.