Craven Community College: Attempt to Establish Administrative Control over Student Newspaper
Shortly after a student newspaper introduced a sex column, the administration announced a policy of prior of review for the paper. FIRE and the Student Press Law Center protested this unconstitutional policy. The administration then retracted its proposed policy and affirmed the First Amendment rights of student journalists on its campus.
- "Victory for Press Freedom at Craven Community College," June 22, 2005: In a victory for freedom of the student press, North Carolina’s Craven Community College has agreed to respect the independence of its student newspaper, The Communicator. Reacting to controversy over a short-lived sex column, Craven had initially (and erroneously) claimed the college was “not authorized to provide its students an independent and open forum,” and had been considering granting prior editorial review of the paper to college administrators. But thanks to protests from FIRE and the Student Press Law Center, Craven now affirms its students’ First Amendment rights.
- "Memorandum of Agreement Between Craven Community College and ‘Campus Communicator’ Staff, May 2, 2005," May 2, 2005
- "Letter from Craven Community College President Scott Ralls to FIRE, April 30, 2005," April 30, 2005
- "FIRE Letter to Craven Community College President Scott Ralls, April 22, 2005," April 22, 2005
- "Letter from Student Press Law Center to ‘Campus Communicator’ Editor, March 21, 2005," March 21, 2005
- "Proposed Student Newspaper Policy Guidelines, February 2005," February 28, 2005
Case Materials
- "Out of the briar patch,"
by G. D. Gearino, The News & Observer, July 19, 2005
