Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                Matt Dulin                  Chris Elliott                        Robyn Morrow 
                                Johnny Peña                  Kristen Young

Prior review hurts student journalists 

The University of Texas Board of Regents decided Friday to continue to subject student media to prior review. The UT system deliberated for a year on the new agreement that many on the Texas Student Publications Board believed would remove the mandate altogether. 

The university's prior review policy requires The Daily Texan, UT-Austin's student paper, to answer to a paid professional adviser. Every word of editorial content is subject to censorship.

UT system regent Cyndi Krier told The Daily Texan the board did not want to give up control of student media because legal responsibility rests on the university's shoulders.

By upholding the prior review mandate, UT invalidates a learning tool. Students can't learn about journalism if they're not allowed to practice it. 

Learning how to do damage control after a large portion of the readership is offended by an editorial cartoon, for example, is just as valuable as learning how to write editorials. Students will likely face both situations after they graduate and get into the real world, which higher education is supposed to prepare them for.

In the 30 years the mandate has been a part of university policy, the editorial adviser at UT has never used the power to censor students. 

Perhaps UT's "legal responsibility" is a decoy justification.

The only reason to hold onto unused power is the power itself.

Even the adviser for The Daily Texan said he feels he's unjustified in abridging the students' First Amendment rights. Richard Finnell told the Houston Chronicle last week he was just glad that he had the job instead of someone else.

Like someone who would exercise the power to censor students.

By keeping Finnell in that position, UT is admitting that it shouldn't censor students, but by letting that position exist, the university is claiming that it should still retain the right to.The Bottom Line: James Madison and Co. didn't think anyone should have that right.