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Otlip lathi ®ar MM W News/Fea * Business/, years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Registration Provides Test For New Advising System By Will Foushee Staff Writer With spring class registration loom ing, officials are putting the revamped academic advising system under the microscope to see if it can handle the work load of student needs. Marilyn Wyrick, a full-time adviser and head of the social sciences advising team, said the system was equipped to handle the challenge, with special train ing from advisers and extra preparation. “Most teams started advising around Sept. 20,” she said. “We were handing out letters to freshmen students about "'m ; 7T MKK. Hlli W. v HP Bgii I j Jrt 1 ii mmg W 3 k Jfu" ■, h§s a, " ijffrr eM . KHHisKp-: jihi DTH/KAARIN MOORF. Eight-year-old Shelby Banning-Arndt gets a Henna tattoo from Krishna Priya Dasi. Henna, an Indian art form, will last up to two weeks. This booth was one of many that people visited at Festifall, the annual crafts fair held on Franklin Street. College Journalists Face Censorship Battles Several recent court decisions have threatened to weaken First Amendment freedoms traditionally enjoyed by college publications. By Anne Fawcett Staff Writer For 200 years, the First Amendment to the Constitution has protected journalists’ rights to publish the uncensored truth. But growing public dislike of the media might be catching up with journalists on college cam puses, as administrators at public schools across the nation challenge the rights of their student journalists in court. Experts say this could ultimately result in col lege journalists losing their First Amendment rights. Mark Goodman, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Student Press Law Center, said the number of requests submitted by college journalists for legal assistance from the center had increased by 150 percent over the last six to eight years. He said that given the tenor of the times, he was not surprised. “People hate the news media,” Goodman said. “(Judges and school officials) are willing to sell it out when they perceive some thing else as having a higher priority.” Administrative opposition proved successful in the recent appellate court decision of Kincaid v. Gibson, which upheld the right of Kentucky State University’s administration to censor the student yearbook. when they could come to sign up for an appointment during orientation.” The new structure consists of eight advising teams, focused on different majors, composed of eight full-time advisers, five assistant deans, 23 part time advisers and 15 peer advisors. Wyrick said each full-time adviser had a work load of 470 freshman and 800 sophomores. With class registration for the spring semester set to begin with the senior class Oct. 23 and Oct. 24, the advising department has been working to sup port the brunt of the advising load. Nalin Parikh, assistant dean of advis In the original ruling, Judge Joseph M. Hood applied a precedent usually reserved for high school journalism. He ruled that Kentucky State “was entitled to exercise reasonable control over the yearbook” because university officials did not intend it to be a forum for communication with anyone outside the Kentucky State community. Kincaid was the first decision of its kind among public universities, said Joey Senat, media law professor at Oklahoma State University. Since the 19605, more than 60 federal court cases have established precedents prohibiting public university administrations from control ling newspapers’ content, grammar or distribu tion. “Universities are not required to create a stu dent-run newspaper, but once the university does make it a student forum, they have to keep their paws off and respect the rights of the students,” Senat said. “College journalists have the same First Amendment rights as commercial media.” Some budding journalists at Auburn University in Alabama might not see it that way, however, following a January conflict with administrators. After running editorials that the Board of Trustees deemed offensive, the Auburn student government passed a resolution threatening legal action and censuring Lee Davidson, editor of Auburn’s Plainsman. Davidson hired a lawyer, but the student gov ernment did not take further action. These previous rulings have corresponded with the intellectual freedom prized by higher education institutions, said UNC journalism Professor Chuck Stone. “For the most part, censorship in colleges and universities has been absent because of the intel- Wake Forest Radio Station Gag Creates Dilemma See Page 7 It is a newspaper's duty to print the news and raise hell. Wilbur F. Storey Monday, October 4,1999 Volume 107, Issue 87 ing, said all the new full-time advisers had good training and excellent com munication between their teams. “We have team meetings every week, where teams meet with their assistant dean.” These changes are part of the Carolina Advising Initiative, created in fall 1998 in response to student com plaints that advisers were inaccessible. Wyrick said advising services within the combined General College and College of Arts and Sciences had improved, but the services were being overtaxed by a lack of improvement in See ADVISING, Page 7 lectual level of the community,” Stone said. “The students are adults and I think there’s a collegial respect for students’ Die students are adults and I think the state or national government, ;’s a collegial respect for students’ CO Senat said. 6es.” 4 u lm H Therefore, administrations ut Goodman said he feared that £f /mm at private universities are ite most faculty’s laissez-faire free to monitor the sub ides toward the student stance and style of their s. the Kincaid decision student publications Id still have implications according to their journalists at other own discretion, ols. W Goodman said that rhe sad thing about court J V | in the past, most private s like this is that when schools f universities adhered to it boosts the egos of other ft ■ the standards of free iols to try to resist the same \ I speech set by public sof constraints,” he said. C I 1 / 3 schools. Thile the consequences are J 1 ftr ntially negative for journalists at | I J See CENSORSHIP, Page 7 ic universities, the Kincaid ruling A A and more critically impact the A ts of private school journal who are not guaranteed First Amendment rights public counter s. f Ml? nly con- ‘ H \ An 6\ JKMAB ' - \ J ’ f \ / ■- abilities.” But Goodman said he feared that despite most faculty’s laissez-faire attitudes toward the student press, the Kincaid decision would still have implications for journalists at other schools. “The sad thing about court cases like this is that when schools win, it boosts the egos of other ’ ‘“ v schools to try to resist the same kinds of constraints,” he said. While the consequences are potentially negative for journalists at public universities, the Kincaid ruling could more critically impact the rights of private school journal- a ists, who are not guaranteed the First Amendment rights of their public counter parts. Censorship is only con sidered a A viola tion of t h e Advising Breakdown The new advising system uses eight-full time advisers, five assistant deans, 23 part-time advisers and 15 peer advisers. [ Assistant Dean j r i ' ; h~ , ~ i ! Team 8* ] | TeamC* | [lteamA: Math & Science 1 [ Special Needs Students^] # | | | FuH-Time Adviser | | Department Adviser | same structure i 1 npL r~L Jzzl Biology Geography Chemishy Physics Math \ ' SOURCE- UNC GENERAL COLLEGE 20,000 Pack Downtown For Festival Candidates for local office were among those with booths at Sunday's Festifall, an annual arts festival held on Franklin Street. By Kathleen Wirth Staff Writer The dimples of 7-year-old Ryan Hagen never disappeared as he romped through the grass draped in medieval chain-mail and an iron helmet, all part of an exhibit at Festifall, an annu al street fair held in Chapel Hill. Hagen, of Raleigh, was one 0f20,000 people to attend the 27th annual Festifall held Sunday on West Franklin Street between Church and Roberson streets. “The armor was really, really heavy and the helmet... oh my God!” Hagen said as he walked away from a display of medieval fighting and dancing. The sidewalks along West Franklin Street were crowded with more than 114 booths sponsored by various nonprofit organizations, international food vendors and artists and craftsmen. In addition, two sound stages provided musical entertainment for festival-goers. The mixture of music could be heard all afternoon as festival-goers drifted from each end of Franklin Street toward the stages. “All of the bands work on a volunteer basis,” said Rainey Buscher, sound and lighting See FESTIVAL, Page 7 First Amendment if it is imposed by the state or national government, Senat said. ILLUSTRATION BY DANA CRAIG AND MEGAN SHARKEY News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245 Business/Advertising 962-1163 Chapel HUL North Carolina C 1999 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Officials Explain Procedure A female graduate student was involuntarily committed to UNC Hospitals last week by University Police. By Kate Macek Staff Writer The involuntary commitment of UNC students is a rare process that involves University, medical and legal officials. But it does happen. Using her hands and feet to resist the police officers, a female graduate stu dent was escorted from Student Health Service to UNC Hospitals last week, police reports stated. John Edgerly, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, would not comment on the details of the case, but said it was rare occurrence. “The most typical kind of commitment is a voluntary commitment. If you get three (involuntary) a year, that’s a lot” After Wendell Williamson shot two people on Henderson Street in January 1995, the University allowed the emer gency disciplinary committee to inter vene in emergency situations. Two years later, former graduate stu dent Romesh Fernando was involuntar ily committed to UNC Hospitals for alleged psychological problems after a committee recommended his expulsion for disrupting the academic environ ment. UNC can require students to undergo psychological evaluations. The procedure for involuntary com mitment begins with an evaluation by a psychiatrist or psychologist from the center for Counseling and Psychological Services. “We would observe whether they were a danger to themselves or others. We routinely ask the person if they’ll go into the hospital,” Edgerly said. If a person does not go voluntarily, the doctor can sign and send to a mag istrate a petition to involuntarily com mit, Edgerly said. If the judge signs the petition, police officers take the person to a hospital for a second evaluation. If a doctor believes a person is dan gerous, he or she is admitted, he said. A third evaluation is done after 24 See STUDENT, Page 7 INSIDE The Baby Bill The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that could give rights to an unborn fetus. Under the new legislation, the killer of a pregnant woman would be charged with two counts of murder. But the bill does not apply to abortion. See Page 4. Speech Time Student Body President Nic Heinke will be delivering his third State of the University address tonight The address will air on Student Television at 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday. Heinke will discuss a variety of topics, including community service, faculty salaries and curriculum issues. Call student government at 962-5201 with questions. Last Chance Applications are due today by 5 p.m. for the Joanna Howell Fund, which is named in honor of a DTH writer who died in the 1996 Phi Gamma Delta fraternity fire. Applicants have the chance to write a full-page article that explores an issue of their choice. The article will be printed in the DTH in November. Return applications to Suite 104 of the Student Union. Call DTH Editor Rob Nelson with questions. Today’s Weather Rain; High 70s. Tuesday: Rain; i Low 70s.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 4, 1999, edition 1
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