Censored newspapers have low news value

Editorial

Students at Flagler College aren't sure whether their college newspaper is a public relations publication for the school or a student-run news outlet.

After the censorship incident its administration pulled last week, it reeks of PR.

But the "journalism" process is nothing but a bed of roses for Flagler College President William Abare, who makes a habit of censoring content that runs in the newspaper.

He believes the foremost purpose of the paper is to promote the university. He said the function of the paper is to promote the image and reputation of the institution, according to a reporter at the St. Augustine Record.

When a senior reporter wrote an article about a reincarnation of a gay-straight alliance known as Club Unity at the college - an alliance the administration conveniently keeps shuffling under other more pertinent applications - red flags went up and Abare broke out his pen.

He and his staff got to work and reframed the story so it conveyed the college in the brightest light possible. They cut around 200 words, which included changing sources' quotes. The writer of the story couldn't tell it was her work when they were through and the student-run staff was so outraged, they decided to cut it.

As at any college or university, students who work for university-wide publications spend their free time reporting to build a strong portfolio and journalism background to become hirable after graduation. But more importantly, they provide a valuable news service to students, faculty and administration.

When quotes are changed, feelings of trust between journalists and sources are destroyed, and the story loses credibility. If the students can't practice good ethics and journalistic values associated with reporting the facts without bias, then they aren't practicing anything worth remembering.

Abare has turned the right of freedom of the press into a cloud of dreams the students will only realize if they transfer to a university with an uncensored publication or delve into the professional world. But after four years of practicing PR for a newspaper, they might find it difficult to break the habit of writing press releases when they enter the work world.

A journalism teacher at Flagler said Abare's action was a disruption of the education process, according to a journalism professor referenced in the St. Augustine Record article. She said the students can hardly apply anything they learn in the classroom to the journalism they're trying to practice when writing for the paper.

The administration isn't worried. Abare recommended that students who want to practice journalism create their own publication that isn't funded by the college. He said if students wanted journalism without censorship, they could create their own publication and sustain it with ad revenue.

It's a bit difficult to get companies to buy ads from a secondary campus newspaper that hasn't yet established a name for itself. Even though Flagler is a private institution - and private schools are run by their own rules and regulations - it isn't fair to censor a publication that's meant to be a student forum.

If the administration has made up its mind to continue to censor the paper and ensure it sugarcoats collegiate activity, then it really should be called a newsletter, and the marketing department for the college should write it. They can print it out on glossy paper, mail it to the board of trustees and other potential donors to the university, and try to make more money.

In the meantime, they shouldn't expect journalists, students, or the St. Augustine community to view the publication seriously. Like telephone solicitors, they're only out to make money - and nobody likes sales calls.

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Student reporters at Va. Tech set standard for all

Editorial

Images of blood-covered Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University students in the arms of SWAT team members captured television and Internet audiences April 16 after a gunman opened fire on the Blacksburg, Va. campus and killed 32 people in the worst shooting massacre in modern U. S. history.

Institutions of higher learning are supposed to be safe places. They aren't supposed to be open targets the way high schools and offices have unfortunately become.

The devastation at Virginia Polytechnic, better known as Virginia Tech, resonates with every college and university in the country. The unsettling fact that Cho Seung-Hui was able to go across the 2,600-acre campus to open fire again just two hours after he killed two students in a dormitory is stomach-turning. The first-hand accounts of Virginia Tech sweatshirt-clad teenagers and 20-somethings trapped in classrooms with the gunman, who was apparently looking for a specific person at the school, are almost too chilling to hear.

As the death toll continued to climb Monday, those of us involved in campus communities can only hope other schools have learned from the massacre at Virginia Tech. It is being reported that a lockdown initially issued after the gunman fired his first round was lifted shortly after, allowing students to resume normal campus activities. It was after the lockdown was lifted that the gunman entered Norris Hall, killing another 30, including himself.

As the country tries to piece together what happened in Blacksburg, there is a group of Virginia Tech students who should receive recognition for doing their jobs as mayhem occurred around them. They were able to gather their thoughts and do what they came to Virginia Tech to do - inform as members of the media. The staff of the independent Collegiate Times, the student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community, began updating their Web site as the carnage unfolded on their campus. The paper's server crashed, and their parent company was able to pick up the updates and post them on the Internet throughout the day.

The staff members at the Collegiate Times realized their role on campus as a news source and filled that role more effectively than ever Monday.

It is students such as those, who have a passion and a responsibility to inform - regardless of how close to home a situation may hit - who inspire others to carry on while staring down a tragedy. Their actions are worth much more than the words and photos they posted.

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Individuals hinder paper's service to community

Staff Opinion

By Tami Livingston
NEWS EDITOR

The primary purpose of a newspaper is to inform, and to do so in the most accurate, unbiased and clearest way possible. As the official University of North Florida paper, that's what the Spinnaker strives to do.

Hubert H. Humphrey said, "The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously." Humphrey's sentiment applies perfectly to not only the Spinnaker but student media organizations everywhere. Just because something is published or broadcasted, doesn't mean people automatically have to respect and take it seriously.

Trust, respect and faith must be earned. Every person who works at the Spinnaker knows this and continually strives to keep the trust that has been placed in us to do our job and do it well.

That job is hindered when individuals purposely prevent the Spinnaker from gaining access to necessary information. Over the past year, the Spinnaker has taken many steps to improve its quality, size and content and to become a more professional paper by taking on more significant stories and complicated issues.

However, many of these attempts were not met with success because we have been denied access to information.

Status reports on what UNF President John Delaney is working on, investigations of faculty misconduct, recordings of Senate meetings, public records, and investigation of Greek Life misconduct have been blocked or stymied due to lack of information from the university.

Either we don't get the information because we can't afford to pay for public records, or because university sources deem it unnecessary for us to know and then do their best to prevent us from getting the information. Many times, when we try to access information through public records requests, we are granted the information after deadline, so it is of no use to us.

By blocking access to information and disrespecting the Spinnaker's mission, those individuals are doing a disservice to the students, faculty and staff who read the paper every week, and to the entire university.

We aren't perfect and don't claim to be - we have made mistakes, and we probably will again. We are learning as we go and we strive to correct our mistakes as soon as they are known. Our mission to learn and to inform is made impossible by uncooperative sources.

We're not asking for the university to stop in its tracks or drop everything to make time for us and give us whatever we want. All we're asking is to be treated with the level of respect we afford each of our sources, interviewees and the university community.

We cannot perform our duty to our readers and the public if we can't access information that is public record by law because of bureaucratic politics and personal inclinations against the Spinnaker.

We have been here for 30 years and we will be here for many more, continually striving to learn, improve and report the news. Even if there are those who'd rather we not.

Contact Tami Livingston at news@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE

Humane Society still needs donations, families for pets

Staff Opinion

By Emily Bruce
COPY EDITOR

When a tragedy strikes, it's often human nature to hunt for any kind of positive outcome. Searching for optimism became a citywide initiative when the Jacksonville community suffered a tremendous loss as the Jacksonville Humane Society caught fire around 2 a.m. April 7, killing 85 animals and displacing 80 more.

Less than two weeks later, it is apparent that good can come out of bad. Watching the community band together has been downright awe-inspiring. A local car wash created a benefit April 13 and donated all of its labor and profits made that day to the JHS. Firefighters from Ladder 10, the station called to the fire, adopted seven dogs at the scene that night. WJXT set up a phone bank. Local media outlets are constantly advertising donation drives set up for the JHS and for Scott Dennis, a firefighter who was burned as he scooped up dogs and cats out of the building. A chain link fence surrounding the 10-acre facility was adorned with flowers, messages, cat collars and dog treats just hours after the blaze.

The good is apparent, but we have yet to reach our giving potential.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but reports are pointing to the facility's laundry room as its starting point. The roof collapsed shortly after the fire began. It's natural to wonder if a careless action, such as leaving a dryer on overnight, might be the reason 85 animals perished. However, as the broken-hearted employees of the JHS are bravely doing, the community needs to look ahead and help the organization to heal and rebuild.

The JHS has insurance, but it is underinsured and needs donations as it tries to re-open parts of the organization, including adoptions and phone services. A recent donation of land behind the current JHS buildings will allow the shelter to expand, but monetary donations are required to make the expansion possible.

The JHS has been a staple in Jacksonville since its establishment in 1885. Because the JHS is non-profit and receives all its funding from individual donations and from shelter service, helping the organization's recovery belongs to the people of Jacksonville.

The city of Jacksonville and the JHS are considering teaming up to build the new facility; however, the city puts down animals and the JHS is a no-kill shelter. It is imperative we not let this tragedy fall into the background because there is still so much to do.

The JHS needs to replace its main building, valued at about $1 million, and its supplies of medication and medical equipment need to be replenished. Perhaps most importantly, given the mission of the JHS, are the dozens of healthy pets who need homes. Adoptions were reopened April 16.

Donations can be made at any Wachovia bank branch and at www.jaxhumane.org, which also includes information on adoptions. If on a budget, toys are also being accepted, so stop by Wal-Mart and pick up a few $.88 pet toys.

The JHS also runs a thrift store on Beach Boulevard, and donations and pick-ups are received weekly.

Contact Emily Bruce at copydesk@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE

Felons don't deserve rights identical to law-abiding citizens

Staff Opinion

By Jenna Strom
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Convicted drug traffickers, robbers, larcenists and other non-violent offenders are now eligible to vote after they get out of prison.

Gov. Charlie Crist recently headed the Florida's Clemency Board in voting to restore felons' basic civil rights. Perpetrators of non-violent crimes can now automatically vote, serve in public office, serve on juries, and hold some state licenses after they have served their sentences and paid their reparations.

Crist voted for the legislation and said it was the "right thing to do," according to a reporter from USA Today. His effort to make things right for people who have done a lot of wrong makes little sense. He thinks because they've already served their time or paid their dues, they should be able allowed the same rights as law-abiding citizens.

Or maybe he's trying to add more liberal flavor to his normally conservative reputation, get a stronger democratic backing, and win a stronger minority vote - which is substantially more likely because non-violent felons will have a voice in upcoming elections.

Allowing convicted felons to serve on a jury might not seem like a big deal to some people and the right to vote might not seem like a worthwhile idea to the apathetic, but it's a right women and blacks did not get to exercise a century ago. It's good that legislators are attempting to keep raising the bar, but by allowing convicted felons more freedom, they're not sending a message that life after crime isn't all that bad.

When the U.S. Constitution was written, the right to vote was only given to white, male landowners. Then it extended to all white males, and later to women and minorities. Now Florida, the fourth largest state in the nation, has joined the other 47 to favor non-violent felons.

If the government's goal is to extend rights, it's not inappropriate to suggest their next step will be to include granting civil rights to violent criminals who have served their time. Imagine having a convicted murderer or rapist as one of the jurors in a murder or sexual battery trial; it would make the idea of unbiased juries seem like a joke.

Violent felons are already permitted to apply for clemency the minute they're released from prison. Twenty percent of the applications have been approved since 1999, according to the Florida Parole Commission. One out of five convicted violent felons is eligible to vote, and the government is only making it easier for the ratio to decrease.

Life's not a game; let's not give the Ted Bundys and Charles Mansons a get-out-of-jail-free card. Just because convicted felons have served their time doesn't mean they should get the freedom taxpayers enjoyed during criminals' incarcerations.

Contact Jenna Strom at editor@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE