美国大学学生报纸面临压力

Student Newspapers at U.S. Colleges Face Pressure 美国大学学生报纸面临压力

Freedom of the press is one of the most valued rights protected under the United States Constitution. Among other things, the constitution’s First Amendment¹ bars creation of any law limiting freedom of speech, or of the press.

American colleges and universities have a long history of producing journalists for the country’s news media. And many of them get their start by working at their college’s student newspaper.

These student reporters write about many subjects, from school sports to local events. But a new report suggests that some newspapers publishing stories critical of their colleges are under attack.

Who or what is threatening these publications? The report claims school administrators³ are to blame.

The report is called “Threats to the Independence of Student Media.” It is a joint⁴ project of four groups: the American Association of University Professors, the College Media Association, the National Coalition⁵ against Censorship, and the Student Press Law Center.

All four organizations say they support academic freedom in higher education.

Released in December, their report lists actions that college and university administrators have taken because of critical stories in student newspapers.

For example, the University of Kansas reduced financial support for its student newspaper after the student government voted to do so in April 2015.

The paper’s student editors then took a university administrator² to court. They claimed the vote was retaliation⁶ for a 2014 story critical of the student government election process. Finally, the student government agreed to give the newspaper its full funding.

The report also lists actions taken against advisors⁸ to student-operated newspapers.

In the U.S., almost every student newspaper has an individual with journalism⁹ experience guiding the reporters. Cheryl Reed was one example.

Northern Michigan University (NMU) asked Reed to serve as its student media advisor⁷ for the school’s newspaper, The North Wind, in 2014. The university also made her a professor of investigative journalism because she has years of experience in the field.

However, it was not long before Reed and her student journalists began to experience problems. In fall 2014, school officials decided¹⁰ to close a popular, independent coffee shop on campus. The school then replaced it with a Starbucks owned by a former NMU student.

The newspaper began to investigate the issue and requested copies of the Starbucks contract. The school first refused before eventually agreeing. Next, the paper requested copies of emails between administrators discussing the activities of The North Wind. As NMU is a public university, these emails were public record. However, the school tried to charge the newspaper for use of the information.

At this point, the publication board that governs the newspaper became involved. The board’s members voted against paying for the emails. The student journalists then went to social media. The attention that followed led to the school releasing the documents free of charge.

But the problems did not end there. The newspaper published several stories critical of Northern Michigan University. This included reports about sexual assault and payments for travel costs made to one of the school’s trustees.

Then, in April 2015, the newspaper board, made up of students, NMU officials, teachers and community members, voted to remove Reed as the advisor. She and a student editor then took four of the board’s student members and an NMU representative to court. They argued the board violated their free-speech rights because of the critical stories.

During the court case, one student board member made a sworn statement against NMU. She said the board’s administrative¹¹ representative met with her individually. She said this meeting was designed to persuade her to vote against paying for access to the emails. She also believed the representative influenced other students so they would vote to remove Reed. Yet, the judge decided there was no violation¹² of constitutional rights.

Reed has since left NMU for personal reasons. Also, she fears that many administrators are more concerned with the school’s image than education. Administrators see colleges more and more as a business, and that in itself is a threat to student journalism, she says.

"There’s this conflict between how administrators want to sell their campuses … and how student journalists see their role in all of this in terms of their trying to report about their campus from a journalistic means. And that means … How does the campus do business? … How safe are these campuses? … These are all major issues for students. And that’s what the journalists are trying to do, cover them in a way that is responsible but also as any journalist would."

Derek Hall is the assistant vice-president of communications at NMU. He denies the board’s action was retaliation or that the administration has power over them. He says the board made its decision for several reasons. This includes concerns about the accuracy of some stories in the newspaper.

But Hall was unable to provide VOA with direct examples of the board expressing these concerns to the paper. And he says he has some regrets about the experience.

"I’m not going to rationalize much of anything that happened there. It was a lot of petty back and forth¹³ … A lot of mistakes were made on both sides."

The report on college media lists several other examples of similar actions taken against advisors at other universities.

Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, says the problem seems to be growing. LoMonte notes that 40 years ago, students and parents would be shocked at the actions of these university administrations. But, now young people worry much more about bad reputations reducing the value of their college degrees.

"What seems to be different is that colleges have recognized they can get away with very open and undisguised acts of retaliation because their communities accept that protecting the reputation of the institution is a legitimate¹⁴ use of authority."

LoMonte says students worry that if their school’s public image is damaged, they will be less likely to find employment. Also, administrators warn students against speaking out, he says. If they do, they risk losing their school’s support in finding a job.

Chris Evans is with the College Media Association. He says student journalists can play an important role. Many newspapers around the world have reduced their work force greatly in recent years. And an American research group, the Brookings Institute, reported just 1.4 percent of news stories were about education in 2009.

Evans says universities need journalists to criticize them and make sure they are doing the job of educating as best they can. If few news organizations are reporting on education, students must produce education-related stories.

But, he notes, schools must let students learn the correct skills to become the best possible journalists.

"Good journalism involves questioning authority, not getting permission from authority to publish something. We develop these habits when we’re young. We develop them in high school and then we take them on to college if we are able to go to college, and then out into the newsroom. And … that’s what perpetuates¹⁵ our democracy, in theory."

In 1988, the U.S. Supreme¹⁶ Court decided high school administrators could control their student newspapers however they like. That is why Evans, LoMonte and Reed all support passing legislation called “New Voices” laws. These measures are designed to protect high school and college student journalists from administrative control.

At least 10 U.S. states now have “New Voices” laws. Evans says as more administrators take business-minded attitudes, this is the best way to protect the next generation of journalists.

Words in This Story

journalist(s) – n. a person whose job is collecting, writing, and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

editor(s) – n. a person whose job is to prepare something written to be published or used

retaliation – n. something bad done to someone who has hurt you or treated you badly

campus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college or school

board – n. a group of people who manage or direct a company or organization

trustee(s) – n. a member of a group that manages the money of an organization

accuracy – n. freedom from mistake or error

rationalize – v. to think about or describe something, such as bad behavior, in a way that explains it and makes it seem correct

petty – adj. relating to things that are not very important or serious

reputation(s) – n. the common opinion that people have about someone or something

legitimate – adj. permitted as directed or required by rules or laws

perpetuate(s) – v. to cause something to continue

1 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

2 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

3 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

9 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

12 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

13 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

14 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

15 perpetuates   

n.使永存，使人记住不忘( perpetuate的名词复数 )；使永久化，使持久化，使持续

参考例句：

• Giving these events a lot of media coverage merely perpetuates the problem. 媒体大量地报道这些事件只会使问题持续下去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Lack of water perpetuates poverty, increases the risk of political instability, and affects global prosperity. 水资源短缺导致贫穷，使政局不稳，且影响全球的繁荣。 来自互联网

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。