By Chris Collins, The Daily Vanguard
February 11, 2005
Whitworth College, a liberal-arts school in Spokane, celebrated the 100th anniversary of its student newspaper this week. But I wonder if the paper will still be around in another century, or even another generation?
If the results of a recent survey that asked high-school students about their views on the First Amendment are any indication of America's future, the fate of student newspapers across the country is depressing.
When asked whether they think the First Amendment "goes too far in the rights it guarantees," 21 percent of the 100,000 students surveyed said they didn't know enough about the First Amendment to even offer an opinion. Only a minority said they thought it didn't go too far. A stunning 35 percent said the First Amendment pushes the boundaries.
Also, nearly half of the students said that newspapers should not be allowed to publish freely without government approval.
That's disturbing.
Ask the imprisoned journalists in China or Russia. They have good reason to object to government censorship. That censorship keeps their countries from establishing a free society and their fellow citizens from holding their governments accountable.
If today's high-school students shrug off the First Amendment as an old-fashioned ideal that belongs on the back burner of our fundamental rights, we're in trouble.
It doesn't necessarily matter how the courts decide First Amendment cases, what free-expression legislation Congress passes, or what executive orders are issued from the White House. If our budding members of society are intellectually stunted, press freedoms will naturally fall by the wayside.
How can a student who wants to see a "U.S. Office of Media Affairs" stamp on every newspaper article value a student newspaper that gives a local voice to collegians and high-school students? How can this student value the First Amendment? And if students don't value the First Amendment, who will defend a free press?
That faded document preserved in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., won't fight for itself.
Students who take more classes that discuss free expression or media issues are more likely to at least have an opinion on the First Amendment, the survey found. Also, they favor greater First Amendment protections much more than those who do not take such classes.
Without schools that emphasize the importance of free expression, students get an education in the three R's, but don't learn about the foundations of our country.
Unfortunately, the number of schools that have high-school newspapers is plummeting. Among lower-middle-income institutions, the figures are startling: 37 percent of these schools have dropped their student newspaper in the past five years, according to the survey sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The survey's findings, released last month, represent more than an ignorance of the First Amendment. They reflect a general ignorance of America's basic principles — principles that have played a role in spurring democratic movements around the world.
Are students aware of what happens to societies without free media?
Would Ukraine have had its nonviolent democratic revolution if Ukrainians and the rest of the world did not see pictures of orange-clad voters vouching for freedom or read the inspiring words of its pro-democracy candidate Viktor Yushchenko?
Admittedly, there should be some reasonable restrictions on free media. Constitutional guarantees that ensure the security and welfare of the state must be considered. For example, Geraldo Rivera shouldn't be allowed to go on live television and pinpoint where American troops are operating.
But security concerns should trump media rights only on rare occasions. The 1971 Pentagon Papers released to The New York Times detailed U.S. military actions in Vietnam only after they took place. That was information rightly shared with the public.
I could conclude with some profound comment from one of the Founding Fathers, but this short excerpt from the Bill of Rights is probably more important to read:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."