Student Journalists Reach Settlement with OCC

Joint Statement of parties in Coppola v. Larson

A settlement has been reached in the case of Coppola v. Larson, 3:06cv2138 (NJ) that satisfies the concerns raised by both parties.  The terms of the settlement ensure that the Viking News will flourish as a positive learning experience and reaffirm the First Amendment rights of student journalists at Ocean County College.  A mutually agreed upon Student Media Advisory Board will work to guarantee that the Viking News and all student media at OCC continue to move forward independently while fully utilizing current media technology. 

The parties have mutually agreed upon the following First Amendment Statement which Ocean County College has adopted and will be guided by from here forthwith:

The Ocean County College President and Board of Trustees vigorously support the rights and freedoms granted to each member of the college community by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.  Ocean County College supports the free speech rights of students and employees and a student press free from prior review, prior restraint, or censorship as well as recognizes all student media as limited public forums.  Ocean County College encourages its student journalists to be independent thinkers, and it encourages all members of the college community to express their views.  Therefore, the exercise of these rights or freedoms cannot be the subject directly or indirectly of any sanction or dismissal from Ocean County College. 

The other major points of the settlement between the parties include:

·                    Ocean County College will create a new elective student media internship which will provide College credit for work on the Viking News, or one of the other Ocean County College media outlets.  Students will have the opportunity to select any faculty member for their internship except the advisor for the particular media outlet.  The faculty member shall work closely with the Student media advisor, who shall direct the intern’s work within the student medium, to assess whether the requirements of the internship are being satisfied by the student.  Students shall receive a pass/fail grade for participating in the student media internship program.

·                    Plaintiffs agree that Ocean County College will provide the Viking News’ computers with the same electronic security as those used to protect grades and college financial records and will not abridge the First Amendment rights of the students.

·                    The Viking News will, whenever feasible, use Windows-platform computers that can be integrated with the Ocean County College network.  At the present time, certain Macintosh production programs produce superior publications and are used widely in the commercial world for print production.  The Viking News will continue to use Macintosh computers to run these programs and any other programs that are superior to their Windows’ counterpart, or that do not have a Windows’ counterpart;

·                    The membership of the Student Media Advisory Board shall be standing and consist of the following individuals:

a.                   Editor-in-Chief of the Viking News

b.                  Editor-in-Chief of Barda

c.                   Editor-in-Chief of Seascape

d.                  Station Manager of WOCC

e.                   Advisor to the Viking News

f.                    Advisor to Barda

g.                   Advisor to Seascape

h.                   Advisor to WOCC

i.                     Director of Student Media or its equivalent

j.                    2 Representatives of the student body (elected annually by the student body in the Spring Student Senate elections.

k.                  Representative of the faculty (elected annually by the college faculty in Spring College Senate elections.

l.                     Representative of the local media (selected annually by the Student Media Advisory Board)

m.                The advisors and editors-in-chief or otherwise-named student leaders of other officially established student media

And the following two non-voting individuals:

n.            Board of Trustees – Student Representative

o.            Alumni Representative

·                    The Student Media Advisory Board’s sole functions are to approve budgets, select editors in chief and radio station managers and act as a resource to the student media on issues which have legal implications and on media convergence.  Ocean County College will also represent and warrant that the Student Media Advisory Board does not exercise any editorial or content control over the Viking News or other student media.;

·                    Ocean County College represents that the Viking News will be treated in the same manner as other student media at the College;

·                    Karen Bosley has been reinstated as student media advisor for the Viking News;

·                    Any changes to the Web host of the on-line edition of the Viking News must be jointly approved by the Student Media Advisory Board and the Editor-in-Chief of the Viking News.

Comments

Hello, Your site is great. Regards, Valintino Guxxi

[Suzanne]

Prepping, I wish....actually, citizen's campaign has a few ordinances that they designed to try and root out corruption in government, and one of them is aimed at the County level, specifically banning any county employee from being an elected state or municipal official (effectively stopping the quid pro quo political payoffs, ie, the Lacey,Morris,Roma debacle). Mr. Kelly's answer to that was that it would be illegal to prevent a civil service job holder from running for office. So, I want to look into the laws defining Civil Service, and how officials seem to manipulate the laws for their own benefit anyway (Fiure, Scaturro, Gilmore)

What do you need to know? Double Dip or the tax payer trip? Preping for your term in office?

[Suzanne]

OK, totally unrelated...but I need some help

WHO knows the ins and outs of Civil Service laws and can put it in Laymen's terms? Is there a professor at the college that would be able to do that? I would like to know how different gov't officials can manipulate the system.

Send me an email..please!

[Forgotten, not gone]

Ah, but that's typical Larson . . .

He thinks that by throwing new technology at things (and in the process, getting rid of the people), they will be "first-class." Unfortunately, that's often applied to things that are already first-class because of the people involved.

Viking News was absolutely first-class, and it's people already provided an excellent model for other college journalists to follow.

[Osama Bin Larson]

"...that will make the Viking News a first-class publication and a model for collegiate journalism."

Newsflash, Larson and clowns - the VN doesn't need you to "make" it a first-class publication. The countless awards won by Prof. Bosley and the students demonstrate that it already is.

But you knew that.

OBL

[Forgotten, not gone]

Also . . . with a nod of respect to Wintrode for his current efforts, this is not " . . . a project born out of donors." This is a project born out of community outrage, outcry and action.

[I heart OCC]

Ha ha ha ha....

"Science related...biology..."

I swear...i think Larson's brain is dying... ha ha ha ha.

It's okay...i'm sure the crack attack will wear off.

[Forgotten, not gone]

Well, at least they didn't go mentioning something outrageous like astronomy in relation to the planetarium!

The College's mistake was simply letting Larson speak. He doesn't know what he's talking about and needs to just be quiet.

[Suzanne]

since when is Biology not a science?

"This is a community regional facility with multiple uses," Larson said. "It is not just used for science-related projects, but for other projects as well, such as biology.

[WebMaster]

Crack.

[Pouty Professor]

"The concerns we raised???" "Respect"??? What a bunch of clowns... The taxpayers should be pleased as punch that it took a few pricey lawsuits, and bad press from illegal actions and inappropriate behaviors to give students a learning experience. What are these people smoking?

[WebMaster]

Here is the press release dated 6/18/07 from Ocean County College:

"RE: Settlement of College Newspaper Case

The mark of a good settlement is that it makes everyone happy and that is certainly true in this case. The college is pleased that the concerns we raised were addressed and resolved. Especially pleasing is the acknowledgement that oversight of the college newspaper will rest in the hands of a widely representative Student Media Advisory Board. The affirmation of our long-established respect for a free press paves the way for implementing technological convergences that will make the Viking News a first-class publication and a model for collegiate journalism. We welcome the settlement and the chance it affords us to give our students a premier learning experience."

[Forgotten, not gone]

I do look forward to getting together soon.

[Citizen Sane]

Re: “The mark of a good settlement . . . .”

The mark of a good leader is to keep the boot leather off the necks of others, to stay clear of the gavel of justice and the imperative of a face-saving settlement . . . .

[Pouty Professor]

Whoa...something is amiss...Well, when we all meet, we can toss this around. EVERYONE has accountability to someone.

[Suzanne]

For any of you that have been to the Freeholders' meetings when I have spoken you will EMPHATICALLY here they say, they do not even really "appoint" the trustees. They appoint the people on the "search committee" for the trustees. They also claim that the Trustees to NOT answer to them because that would be involving politics in education, and that is a big NO-NO to them. Every time I ask questions, that is the answer, they are not involved in the day to day running of the college, NOR do they want to be.

[Forgotten, not gone]

I know that the Freeholders are taking NO responsibility for the Trustees and have claimed that the trustees do not answer to them. In the Freeholder eyes, they've said this would be getting involved in the day to day operation of the college, which they emphatically say they do not and will not do.

If the wheel squeaks loud enough, maybe it'll make them move a bit. Remember, there are a couple of them up for re-election that want to keep themselves in a positive light. Otherwise, maybe it's necessary to go to the Governor's office.

I know that the trustees have accountability on paper, it just seems that NO ONE wants to claim them.

[Mandi Spears - Proud OCC Alumnus]

Hey Guys,
The Board of Trustees not only answer to the Freeholders but they also answer to the Governor. The Governor's office was very helpful to me when I expressed my concerns about OCC and I can only imagine the response they would have if the wheel starts to squeak a bit loudier.
I wish all of you the best of luck restoring OCC to its rightful place at the top.

http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/8153.html

[I heart OCC]

Congratulations bloggers!

This site has officially been hyperlinked in an article.

The word "statement" takes you to this Web site when you click on it.

[Pouty Professor]

FNG: That's been my question and issue all along. The trustees report to the Freeloaders and we know how incestuous that is. Chicken house and the foxes and all that. Supposedly, the Freeholders are accountable to the folks. HA!! That is precisely why we have to have more press attention to everything happening on campus. Can we say "revive the petition" boys and girls??

[Forgotten, not gone]

If this were truly the good ship OCC, those responsible for the situation would be subject to court martial or otherwise held responsible for their actions.

Sadly, we've been finding that no one seems to be in charge of the Trustees. Who do these people answer to?

[Jefferson]

CS has nailed the crux of the issue exactly. Trustees failed to govern OCC, either through ignorance/indifference to American political & constitutional history or through fear of being out of step with their comatose fellows who cherish obedience to authority (after all, JL is a President!)more than principle. Thus, a CEO with the scruples of a privateer steered the good ship OCC into shallows from which no dignified exit could be found. Result?: Our reputation has hull damage which will not easily be repaired. Questioning authority, not cheerleading, should be the hallmark of real educational leaders. Silence & unanimity are the traits of followers, not leaders.

[I heart OCC]

P.S. I love how public relations got that one passed them. In trying to make Larson look knowledgeable, they've made him look a little TOO experienced with this reappearing problem.

haha...

"The mark of a good settlement.."

I won't forget that one!