Description:
Censorship and prior review of scholastic publications have been subjects of controversy since the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988) Supreme Court decision. In what principals sometimes believe is an effort to protect the student body and the school’s reputation in the community, they often pre-read a student publication and may prohibit distribution of anything they deem to be controversial material. What these administrators fail to protect is their students’ right to free speech in the school, as dictated by the Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) Supreme Court decision. To demonstrate the occurrence of both censorship and prior review nationwide, we have developed a Web site using Google Maps to visually track and summarize these instances. We have also created a map for publications that have, by policy or practice, established themselves as forums for student expression, the most important way, based on current court decisions, to ensure their First Amendment rights. The maps may be viewed by visiting http://jmc.kent.edu/csj and clicking on “Censor map” in the left-hand menu. The ultimate goal of the maps is to show students, their media advisers, and administrators how widespread prior review and censorship are. Student journalists and advisers viewing the maps are often surprised by the frequency ofthese actions. They then report their own struggles or reach out to nearby schools when they realize they are battling the same problems. The map is also useful for viewing trends that show the erosion of students’ First Amendment right of free press. Finally, the forum map links to information about schools that do have free expression, publications and broadcast outlets where students make content decisions and learn about media from first-hand experience. As this article shows, the maps are meeting our goals of distributing and archiving information about this topic vital to the future of democracy and of providing substantive materials that can help other student journalists protect their rights.