A university president has been accused of violating the First Amendment in a "scolding screed" he wrote to the editor of the student newspaper barring him from interviewing government agencies and demanding that he show administators the "highest respect."
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, or FIRE, is defending the student, Jared Nally, the editor of the The Indian Leader, the student paper at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas.
FIRE was joined by the Native American Journalists Association and the Student Press Law Center in a letter to university President Ronald Graham.
On Oct. 5, Nally, emailed the Lawrence Police Department with a routine request for information about the death of a university employee, FIRE said. Nally identified himself as a student reporter of The Indian Leader. Graham wrote that Nally "discredited" himself and the university, and brought "unwanted attention" to INUK
"Under no circumstances," wrote Graham, "do you have the authority to contact the police department (or any other governmental agency) and demand anything on behalf of the university."
Graham demanded that Nally never again "attack any student for faculty member in public or any public forum," make any "demands" for information, or record any Haskell person during an interview unless they grant permission, even though the state law allows one-person permission for recordings in Kansas.
"The only 'attack' here is Ronald Graham’s egregious and unconstitutional attack on the free press," said Lindsie Rank, author of FIRE’s letter to HINU. "President Graham must immediately disavow his threats against Jared’s right to ask questions of those in power. That's Jared’s job as a journalist. It's President Graham's job to understand his very real obligations under the Constitution."
FIRE's letter called Graham's letter a "meandering, scolding screed" and warned it "has long been settled law that the First Amendment is binding on public colleges like HINU. … 'The precedents of this court leave no room for the view that, because of the acknowledged need for order, First Amendment protections should apply with less force on college campuses than in the community at large. Quite to the contrary, 'the vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schoo9ls.' … Indeed, the 1989 settlement agreement – which you concede is a binding agreement – obligates Haskell Indian Nations University in particular to protect the First Amendment rights of the student publishers of the Leader."
The president's "directive," the three organizations contended, targeted "protected speech."
FIRE explained that "criticism of university officials is constitutionally protected speech."
And Kansas law allows the recording of private conversations with the consent of one party.
Also, "threatening retaliation against Nally or the Leader for their free expression violates the First Amendment."
And the president's letter is "an appalling and unequivocal departure from the First Amendment" and must be rescinded.
"A public college administrator who violates clearly established law will not retain qualified immunity and can be held personally responsible for monetary damages for violating First Amendment rights," FIRE said.
FIRE noted that HINU is operated by the federal government and therefore is bound to affirm students' rights in the Constitution and a 1989 settlement agreement between the university and the student newspaper.
The agreement provided that students would retain full editorial control over The Leader, including the right to access its funding, "as well as its right to engage in journalistic pursuits free from censorship."
"The Indian Leader is the oldest Native American student newspaper and one of HINU’s oldest continued legacies,” Nally said. “We are an award-winning publication, and it’s disappointing to feel like this amazing student legacy is not supported by our university."
Last month, The Leader won 11 awards from the Native American Journalists Association, including first place for general excellence.
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