On the ninth annual National Student Press Freedom Day, organized by the Student Press Law Center, it’s important to realize the significance of our power of freedom of speech as students and student journalists. Journalism is an incredible tool that, when used correctly, is a means to deliver important information directly to our communities in a manner that is by the people, for the people.
The Montclarion has always lived by this principle and strived to give the student body of Montclair State University unbiased, accurate and relevant news. This year, with the day’s theme being Resilience in Action, we look back at the history of students’ fights for freedom of speech and press in America.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969): In this landmark case, pupils at a public high school in Iowa laid the foundation for freedom of speech for students. When students planned a silent demonstration involving wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War, the principal quickly warned them they would be punished if they went through with their plan.
When the students defiantly exercised their First Amendment rights, they were suspended by the school, who argued the armbands “disrupted learning.” The children’s parents sued the district and eventually won, with the Supreme Court stating that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” And thus, the first step was taken.
Mary Beth and her brother John Tinker display the anti-Vietnam War armbands that got them suspended from their high school in Des Moines, Iowa. 1968
Papish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri (1973): Barbara Papish, a graduate journalism student at the University of Missouri, was expelled from the university after distributing self-made newspapers depicting controversial political cartoons. While the college argued Papish violated a by-law prohibiting indecent speech, appeals courts backed the student, arguing that her work was protected under the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court agreed, saying “the mere dissemination of ideas — no matter how offensive to good taste — on a state university campus may not be shut off in the name alone of ‘conventions of decency.'”
A publication by Barbara Papish, much like the one that got her expelled from the University of Missouri. The Supreme Court overturned the expulsion. Photo courtesy of The Missourian
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988): The road to student press freedom was not without its bumps. In 1987, high school journalism students in St. Louis, Missouri wrote articles in their school newspaper telling the stories of their peers’ experiences with teen pregnancy and the impact of divorce.
When the principal read these stories, he removed them without informing the students, leading to a lawsuit where the Supreme Court ultimately decided that the school had the right to censor its own students.
Tammy Hawkins, editor of The Spectrum high school newspaper, holds a copy of the paper in 1988. The Supreme Court ruled against their freedom of speech. AP Photo/James A. Finley
Kincaid v. Gibson (2001): In 1994, school officials at Kentucky State University confiscated all copies of the school’s yearbook, The Thorobred, due to “quality” concerns. The university then transferred the student newspaper’s advisor to a secretarial position after she refused to censor material that was critical of the college.
Two students filed a lawsuit, and seven years later, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the university violated the First Amendment rights of the students by confiscating the yearbook.
Hosty v. Carter (2005): When officials at Governors State University in Illinois decided they objected with content being published in student newspaper The Innovator, Dean of Student Affairs Patricia Carter requested that the organization cease publishing until she herself had reviewed the content.
Margaret Hosty and two other student reporters took it to court, alleging the administration violated their First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court decided that the principle used in Hazelbrook v. Kuhlmeier could, in fact, be applied to college publications, creating uncertainty for student journalists in higher education.
Indiana Daily Student Controversy (2025): The faculty advisor for Indiana University’s student newspaper filed a lawsuit against the school his termination amid a conflict over the paper’s editorial content. The school then pulled the plug on the paper’s print content, greatly prohibiting their reach on the campus.
Student editors have spoken out against the school’s administration, arguing that the university’s actions constitute censorship. The school recently attempted to backtrack their actions, but the lawsuit is ongoing.
In a time of censorship and prominent questions about the relevance of the First Amendment, it is essential that we not only embrace these cases and those who forged the path to press freedom, but continue to fight for it. We at The Montclarion are committed to delivering quality news to the community and will continue down the path of student press freedom.
