Student media experts argue student government prior review committee is unconstitutional

ASWSU members filed two election violation allegations against The Daily Evergreen on Thursday and Friday, accusing the publication of running an advertisement for the Student Media referendum without prior approval from a seemingly unconstitutional review committee.

Pro Tempore Crystal Swanson alleged Thursday afternoon The Daily Evergreen did not comply with requirements imposed by the ASWSU Senate that the Evergreen submit marketing materials for the referendum for a review committee’s approval.

President Kyle Geiger filed a near-identical allegation for the same advertisement Friday afternoon. The language of both documents indicated failure to comply could result in the removal of the Student Media referendum from the ballot.

Two election violation allegation hearings were scheduled for Sunday. Both hearings were for the same ad published on Thursday and Friday.

ASWSU Judicial Board Chief of Staff Annie Pocklington announced in an email Saturday evening the hearings had been “cancelled and postponed” due to the “nature of this case and some things that have come up.” The referendum remained on the ballot for the election which opened Sunday night.

“These imposed regulations are the result of complete misunderstanding of very basic First Amendment protections for freedom of the press,” said Hannah Street, editor-in-chief of The Daily Evergreen.

The allegation claimed the advertisement, which states “For the price of one … Latte you could fund Student Media … ONLY $4 a semester,” seemed to imply that Student Media will not continue to rely on Services and Activities (S&A) fees even if the referendum passes.

Swanson’s allegation stated because the information falsely advertised to thousands of students, “we do believe it is grounds for discussion of terminating the referendum or that a retraction and clarification be printed immediately.”

The language in the advertisement did not state that the proposed fee would be Student Media’s only source of funding. The advertisement also linked to The Daily Evergreen’s referendum web page, which clearly states that the $4 fee will help fund Student Media in addition to S&A fees.

An editorial board which published in the same paper as the advertisement contained the same information regarding where the funding will come from and go to.

The Senate passed Referendum 45-02 on Feb. 24, placing the proposed fee on the ballot, on the condition that a newly-created committee made up of the pro tempore, president and election board chair be allowed to review and approve by a majority vote all marketing materials before they be made public.

Swanson said she added the amendment in question to address concerns regarding how Student Media might present information about the referendum in marketing materials.

“This advertisement was not approved by the required parties outlined in Referendum 45-02, and if it had been we would have requested that the language be changed,” Swanson wrote in a statement to Student Media leadership. “This was the motivation behind the allegations that were filed by myself and President Geiger.”

Student Media leaders met with ASWSU members Friday afternoon to discuss the issue. Geiger and Vice President Samantha Kieling declined to comment on behalf of the Senate.

Representatives of Student Media did not agree to the referendum amendment regarding this review process. Street said certain advertisements were submitted to the committee in a good-faith effort to allay concerns ASWSU had regarding marketing materials, but not for preapproval.

“We never formally agreed to the referendum clause that was added during the Senate meeting, which felt extremely coerced,” Street said. “It was clear the referendum was not going to pass unless the clause was added.”

The U.S. Constitution protects media organizations from prior review censorship. Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Washington, D.C., said because the Evergreen student leaders did not waive their constitutional rights this process of prior review is unfounded.

“In the absence of an agreement, there’s just no way at all legally that people who are representatives of state government – and a student government association is an extension of the state government – can make a news organization submit its content for preapproval,” LoMonte said. “There’s just no way at the college level that that’s constitutionally permissible.”

The preapproval committee also conflicts with Student Media’s Statement of Policies, which specifies WSU prohibits university officials from requiring student staff members to submit materials for prior review.

“They shouldn’t have been allowed to look at stuff ahead of time,” said David Cuillier, former president of the Society of Professional Journalists. “That’s ludicrous; that’s prior restraint.”

The allegation stated the unapproved advertisement warrants discussion of removing the ballot from the referendum or printing a retraction and clarification of the advertisement.

“If they took any type of punitive or retaliatory action for your failure to submit that edition of the paper for review, that would be a violation of the First Amendment,” LoMonte said. “They would be really on some very unsteady constitutional ground.”

If passed, the fee will primarily go toward funding the salaries of professional staff and other operating costs for Student Media.

Street said some of her concerns stem from the fact that there are two ASWSU seats on the S&A committee.

“This situation is exactly why we’re trying to secure consistent funding,” Street said. “If this fee isn’t approved, we have to turn to the S&A committee and ask for a funding increase from the same people who attempted to infringe upon our rights to freedom of the press.”

Disclaimer: The author and editors of this article work for the Office of Student Media.