Shield law proposed in Nebraska

In the past year, the rights of student journalists at universities and colleges across the U.S. have come under inspection. At the University of Missouri, there were two student journalists who documented a faculty member attempting to infringe on their right to report  a protest that was taking place in a public space.

This is just one example of the problems that student journalists are facing today. There are campuses attempting to tell journalists that they can only publish certain things because the students on that campus are entitled to a ‘safe space.’

This is unacceptable, but thankfully for students that attend Nebraska universities, state colleges, and community colleges, we have a senator that is working to secure our First Amendment rights.

Sen. Al Davis, R-District 43, introduced a bill relating to college journalists and the freedom of speech and the press on Jan. 11. The bill is written to protect any material published, broadcasted, or distributed to the student body if it is created under the direction of a media adviser. It does not cover work created for distribution in a classroom. This is a big step for Nebraska, and at The Eagle, we commend Davis for taking a stance on this issue before the First Amendment rights of students in Nebraska can be infringed upon.

We have been lucky at Chadron State, because there has never been an attempt to censor the material that we publish. However, this bill is a step in the right direction to prevent censorship from ever becoming an issue.

When contacted, Davis said that he wrote the bill because free press is necessary for a democratic society to thrive, and that although college students are often treated as children, he sees them as adults.

“At 18, they are old enough to go to war, old enough to get married, and old enough to vote. They should be extended the same protections that adults are,” Davis said.

Kudos to you Sen. Davis, we appreciate the work that you are doing on behalf of the students in your state.