(1974). The Black Armbands Case: A Delicate Balance. The Supreme Court broadened freedom of expression for high school and college students in its landmark decision of 1969, "Tinker vs Des Moines Independent School District.""Tinker" is significant in that it affirmed the Court's protection of free speech unless such expression is likely to produce "clear and present danger" of serious harm, and the "material and substantial interference" standard established in "Tinker" helped clarify which student expressions are protected under the First Amendment. "Papish vs University of Missouri Curators" is the most recent Supreme Court case (1973) to cite "Tinker," but lesser courts have adopted the "Tinker" rationale in such cases as "Zucker vs Panitz,""Scoville vs Board of Education," and "Lee vs Board of Regents of State Colleges." Total clarity concerning the principles established in "Tinker" has not been reached, but it… [PDF]
(2004). Walking the Talk on Campus Speech. Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, Trusteeship v12 n2 Mar-Apr. A public university faced with intolerant student speech now risks being damned if it acts, but equally damned if it fails to act. To a greater degree than at any time in recent memory, the actions and policies of higher education institutions concerning student speech not only are being scrutinized, but they also are becoming the subject of legal challenge with potentially grave consequences. That's why college and university trustees need to appreciate changes in the legal landscape and prepare for review and possible recasting of traditional approaches to speech issues. This article examines speech issues in terms of offended minorities, free-speech zones, new media, and the post-9/11 era. These issues present new challenges to trustees and administrators, especially those who were faculty members or administrators back in the 1960s and thought they had seen it all. What we are now coming to appreciate in the new millennium is not only that many important issues never were… [Direct]
(1993). The Evolving National Information Network: Background and Challenges. A Report of the Technology Assessment Advisory Committee to the Commission on Preservation and Access. The rapidly developing and changing networking and telecommunications environment now being implemented in the United States and across the globe is explored. The creation of a flexible and inexpensive digital network allowing instantaneous access by any individual to information of any type is now within our grasp. A primer on the technology underlying the current network environment is offered, and the status of higher education and research networking environments is described. Some of the lessons learned to date are highlighted, and the impacts of this technology on the issues of knowledge preservation and access are considered. Scenarios of possible futures using the interlocking technologies of communications, processing power, and storage are provided. Prospects and challenges in the further development of the network are also reviewed. Policy issues that cannot be ignored are those of: (1) access; (2) appropriate use; (3) funding; (4) governance; (5) security; and (6)…
(1987). Legal Issues Affecting Faculty and Administration in Higher Education. Legal aspects of college teaching and administration are discussed. The faculty and college are liable by tort law for students in three ways: intentional acts or interference, strict liability, and negligence. Intentional acts include improperly installed or dangerous equipment, while strict liability cases usually occur where fault is not specifically identifiable, such as when students hurt themselves on ice when there was no adequate protection barriers and warnings. Negligence may occur when there are student injuries without proper supervision of students by faculty members. Another type of negligence action is educational malpractice (i.e., teachers and administrators did not carry out their responsibilities to students and students did not learn what they should have). Specific concerns include proper training of graduate assistants for their responsibilities, management by faculty of health emergencies while exerting caution in administering first aid, and keeping accident… [PDF]
(2001). Ethics: The Role of Adult and Vocational Education. Trends and Issues Alert No. 24. Ethics and social responsibility are the subject of both curriculum materials and research in adult and vocational education. State academic standards and curriculum frameworks address citizenship and personal and social responsibility. Ethical and legal issues for specific occupations are addressed in curricula issued by states, professional associations, and educational institutions. Research studies examine the ethical inclinations and decision making of secondary and postsecondary students, as well as the effects of ethics instruction. Methods and resources used in ethics instruction include case studies, heroes as a model for ethical behavior, and a combination of critical thinking and ethics instruction. Service learning projects are recommended for developing social responsibility. Web sites offer resources for ethics instruction. The adult and vocational education literature reflect ethical issues for educators. A long list of ethical issues arises in the use of technology… [PDF]
(2006). Student Distribution of Religious Fliers in Public Schools: Ten Ways to Invite a Lawsuit. Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, v79 n3 p138-143 Jan-Feb. This article address the legal and constitutional issues surrounding how far school leaders can go in restricting distribution of materials that are viewed as religious in nature. Does restricting the student's right to distribute the flyer amount to a suppression of free speech based on content? Does the principal's action constitute unlawful viewpoint discrimination? Will allowing the student to distribute religious fliers in school suggest that the school endorses religion? Does the type of forum established by the school affect distribution of religious literature by students? It is noted that, although public school students do not possess the same level of First Amendment protection that adults enjoy, their constitutional rights are not lost when they enter school. Section headings in this article are: (1) Forum Analysis and the Judiciary; (2) Viewpoint Discrimination, (3) Religion and First Amendment Rights; (4) First Amendment Rights Restrictions; (5) Equal Access Act; (6)… [Direct]
(2011). Google and the "Twisted Cyber Spy" Affair: US-Chinese Communication in an Age of Globalization. Quarterly Journal of Speech, v97 n4 p411-434. The "twisted cyber spy" affair began in 2010, when Google was attacked by Chinese cyber-warriors charged with stealing Google's intellectual property, planting viruses in its computers, and hacking the accounts of Chinese human rights activists. In the ensuing international embroglio, the US mainstream press, corporate leaders, and White House deployed what I call the rhetoric of belligerent humanitarianism to try to shame the Chinese while making a case for global free markets, unfettered speech, and emerging democracy. That rhetorical strategy carries heavy baggage, however, as it tends to insult the international community, exalt neo-liberal capitalism, sound paternalistic, and feel missionary. Belligerent humanitarianism sounds prudent, however, when compared to the rhetorical strategy of the US military-industrial complex, which marshals the rhetoric of warhawk hysteria to escalate threats into crises and political questions into armed inevitabilities. To counter these… [Direct]
(2006). Questions of Conduct. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, v23 n21 p36-37 Nov. When Jason Johnson, a student at the University of the Cumberlands in the eastern Kentucky hills, posted comments about his new boyfriend on his Myspace.com Web page, he unintentionally sparked a controversy that quickly embroiled the college, the president of the state senate, and Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher. The Baptist-affiliated college, whose student handbook prohibits homosexual relationships, expelled Johnson, a 20-year-old theater arts major. Gay-rights organizations and some lawmakers responded by demanding that Governor Fletcher veto $11 million in state funds for a new pharmacy program at the college. Others, including the president of the state senate, defended the school's right to set its own rules for student behavior, pointing out that Johnson knew the rules before he enrolled. Similarly, many legal experts say private colleges have the right to exclude students who fail to abide by the college's moral codes. But others say the Johnson drama underscores the… [Direct]
(1998). The Universities Today. Scholarship, Self-Interest, and Politics for Concerned Citizens, Students, Parents, Alumni, Officials, Educational Administrators, Academicians. This book examines issues facing higher education today, especially the need to reverse the frequently adversarial relationship between the academy and the larger society. Chapter 1 addresses common criticisms of the university. Chapter 2 considers issues of freedom and order, the role of trustees, alumni, and university administration and organization. Chapter 3 is about faculty work, including the professorial role, tenure and promotion, faculty compensation, teaching, research, and accountability. Chapter 4 discusses the dilemma of faculty politics, including such issues as female/minority faculty, free speech, racism, and multicultural education. Chapter 5 considers the politics of violence and harassment, and analyzes several specific cases. Chapter 6 discusses student-related issues, including gender differences in learning, choosing an undergraduate college, grade inflation, athletics, graduation, and some student-related university dilemmas. Student learning and politics,…
(1983). Regulation of Postsecondary Institutions: Model Legislation. Issuegram 22. The Education Commission for the States' model state legislation for approval of postsecondary institutions and authorization to grant degrees is discussed with regard to three Supreme Court cases on academic freedom, as well as several recent state court cases on the regulation of teaching in private postsecondary institutions. Constitutional issues raised by the decision to regulate postsecondary institutions include the free speech protections of the first amendment, which includes teaching, and the freedom of religion at church related colleges. In addition, the due process requirements of the fourteenth amendment raise additional issues, including certain liberty interests from state regulatory infringement. It is suggested that states adopting a licensing requirement that focuses on teaching in postsecondary institutions should reexamine their laws in the light of general Supreme Court cases on academic freedom and the recent lower court decision in New Jersey and North… [PDF]
(1990). Changing Fossilized Speech: What Does It Take?. At an employer's request, a course was developed to improve the speech skills, and remediate fossilized speech, of six Asian engineers and scientists. All had spoken English for many years, and averaged 10 years of residence in the United States. These students were recorded reading a dialogue as well as in free speech. A needs assessment was performed by analyzing the recordings and by tests of grammar and listening comprehension. Based on the results, instruction focused on developing more comprehensible speech, using existing knowledge of vocabulary and structure. Emphasis was placed on suprasegmentals and certain problematic phonemes, with some work on grammatical errors. Techniques were used to stimulate student motivation to improve speech. Instruction consisted of teacher explanations and demonstrations, structured oral practice, communicative activities, and laboratory and home work with language tapes. At the end of the course, three students clearly demonstrated… [PDF]
(1969). Student Activism in Junior Colleges: An Administrator's Views. Beginning with an overview, the author traces the history of activism from the Berkeley Free Speech Movement to the present, noting that, while junior college activists are influenced by senior institutions, their activities are typically more moderate. Defining several activist groups and their special interests, he then discusses the new left (primarily the Students for a Democratic Society), the rightists, black students, Mexican-American students, and the elected student officers involved in the National Student Association. As for student government, he notes it has been bypassed by the activists, and efforts to participate in institutional governance are largely unsuccessful. Moving to student rights, he reviews the statements on this topic by the American Association of University Professors, the American Council on Education, and the organizations preparing the comprehensive "Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students." The last topics are community… [PDF]
(1994). PC, No–An Examination of the Conservative Opposition to Political Correctness. An objective assessment of the politically correct movement on college campuses casts much doubt on the positions advanced by conservative critics in the popular media. Through "Time,""Newsweek,""The New Republic,""Nightline," and other media, conservative critics, backed by well-established right-wing organizations, have painted a portrait of the issue of political correctness as being an organized movement that threatens free speech. Drawing on a body of "outrageous" cases, they have viewed political correctness and multiculturalism as a conspiracy threatening the very foundation of American society. However, more sensible evaluations of political correctness on college campuses show that it does not hold a position of unchallenged authority. In fact, it seems unlikely that there is much, if any, organized effort to program students with politically correct ideas. What there is, to quote one student, is an attempt to recognize… [PDF]
(1986). Press Law and Press Freedom for High School Publications: Court Cases and Related Decisions Discussing Free Expression Guarantees and Limitations for High School Students and Journalists. Contributions to the Study of Mass Media and Communications, Number 6. According to this reference manual, the nation's courts offer public high school journalists the same constitutional protection for expression, free speech, and free press as adults. Part 1 traces the development of the First and Fourth Amendments and explains how these provisions apply to high school publications. Part 2 examines expression that can be regulated by public schools, including disruption of the school program; the time, place, and manner of distribution; and libel and obscenity. Courts generally approve stronger restrictions and regulations pertaining to high school publications than are permissible for adult or college student publications. Courts allow public school officials to request preliminary copies of high school publications and can forbid distribution of all publications posing a serious threat of danger or disruption or containing libelous or obscene material. The obscenity allowance has to do with teenagers' minority status. Part 3 covers other legal…
(1986). Coping with Classroom Bigotry: Politics and Morality of Canada's Keegstra Affair. In December 1982, James Keegstra was dismissed from his position as high school social studies teacher in a small Canadian town. Two and one-half years later Keegstra was convicted on the rarely heard criminal charge of willful promotion of hatred towards an identifiable group (Jews) through his classroom teaching. Courtroom testimony made it clear that two successive principals of the school and the former superintendent of the school district had sheltered Keegstra by ignoring or failing to act on parental complaints. The two principals appeared as defense witnesses on behalf of Keegstra who argued that the approved curriculum was biased and that the school was interfering with his right of free speech. The principals' testimony raises concern about the selection and training of school administration and the functions and dysfunctions of ignorance, morality, and short-term expedience in the management of public education. The positivist technicism widespread in graduate…