An Investigation Of Administrative Rule And Procedure 5-1 Of The Chabot-Las Positas Community College District

An Investigation of Administrative Rule and Procedure 5-1

of the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District

by

Dean T. Pangelinan, SS#: XXX-XX-XXXX

English 3003, Discursive Writing, Section 01

Spring Quarter, 1995 - California State University Hayward

Xxxxx XxXxxx, Instructor

Presentation Date: May 8/10 - Initial Submission

"Certainly the student press plays a role in the closed society of a school not unlike the role its commercial counterpart plays in society at large: Its mission should be to provide a forum for members of the school community to voice their opinions about issues of concern."

 Excerpted from "Freedom of Expression: The Cornerstone of a Free Society," Law of the Student Press, Student Press Law Center, Washington D.C.

i

An Investigation of Administrative Rule and Procedure 5-1

of the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District

(Outline)

Controlling Purpose: This report is presented to demonstrate that Administrative Rule and Procedure 5-1 of the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District (CLPCCD) manual of governing board policies should either be rescinded or completely rewritten.

I. The status of ARP 5-1 is questionable.

A. No official record of its second form is available.

B. No record exists of its reauthorization in 1990.

II. There are no substantive differences between the 1968 and the 1990 versions.

A. All text changes are cosmetic in nature.

B. The text changes reflect only two substantial alterations in 22 years:

1. The recognition of Las Positas College as an institution.

2. The change of the district's name.

III. ARP 5-1 is not widely distributed.

A. Only two "official" copies of the document exist.

1. One copy is of the 1968 format.

2. The other copy is of the 1990 format.

B. Copies have not been distributed to the proper personnel.

1. The president of the college and dean of instruction do not have copies.

2. The student journalists and student newspaper advisor do not have copies.

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IV. ARP 5-1 is not being implemented.

A. A student editor "from the 1970s" does not recognize it.

B. The current faculty advisor for The Chabot Spectator was not made aware of it by his supervisors.

V. Three sections of ARP 5-1 conflict with the historical mission of a student newspaper.

A. Subsections 1 and 2 restrict content to "official notices"

B. Section 1 of the Policy Statement requires "dissemination of official announcements and information."

C. Section 5 requires the newspapers to be "loyal boosters."

D. Both of the district's student publications meet the requirements for recognition as "public forums":

1. Both publish news and student opinions.

2. Both are distributed outside the classroom.

VI. ARP 5-1 attempts to impose prior restraint over the student newspapers.

A. The student newspapers must "confine their coverage".

1. Only matters of concern to the district may be covered.

2. Profanity and "unnecessary references" to drugs and sex are prohibited.

3. Staff members are restricted from contacting outside sources.

B. These requirements are unworkable and unconstitutional.

1. Academics are "shocked" by the restrictions - Howard Seeman of Humboldt State University comments.

2. Working professionals feel the rules are "not practical"-Dennis Oliver of the Tri- Valley Herald comments.

Table of Contents:

Outline i/ii

Introduction 1

1. Creation of Administrative Rule and Procedure 5-1 2

II. Comparison of the 1968 and 1990 versions of ARP 5-1 2

III. Distribution of Administrative Rule and Procedure 5-1 3

IV. Implementation of Administrative Rule and Procedure 5-1 3

V. Conflict with the Historical Mission of a Public College Student Newspaper 4

VI. Implied Intent of Administrative Rule and Procedure 5-1 5

Conclusion 7

Page 1

"[T]he press has the right to publish what it finds without prior restraint. To journalists, [this] also came to mean that they had the freedom to gather and prepare news and that the processes involved in these activities were shielded from prying government and others....

 Melvin Mencher, Page 365, News Reporting and Writing,