| 'Juicy Campus' Resists Squeeze by Tenn. State |
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| By Jennifer Butler -- Black College Wire | |
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JuicyCampus.com seems to be considering legal recourse against Tennessee State University's ban of it on its servers. 
Vox Populi/Lexie Herman
Ivester speaking at Georgetown
Michael Freeman, vice-president of student affairs, appears to be unfazed by these potential threats. He contended, after speaking with the university's legal counsel, that there are logical, legal reasons for the ban on TSU's behalf. "I believe Mr. Ivester has a right to his opinion," Freeman said. "I believe his assertions are incorrect. Rather than addressing every misguided statement I will simply state (three things). "Students still have access to the Web site via many other networks," he continued. "The TSU Web site is not a public forum; therefore, Mr. Ivester's equating 'public' with 'free and open' is misleading. The TSU network is established for educational and research purposes." The university also provided another, situational-appropriate response to the threat, citing lawsuits and current laws to come to Freeman's aid. According to the legal counsel, there are at least two reasons why the Web site can be blocked. "First, students can use cell phones, Blackberries, iPhones and other personal electronic devices to access this Web site," the counsel said in a press release. "They don't need our network. There may have been a time when students did not have access to the Internet outside of computers, but those days are long gone. "Second, the University's computer network/Internet access is funded through State-appropriated funds and student enrollment fees for specific, limited purposes that are set forth in policy," the statement continued. "The University can limit the use for which this resource is provided because, legally, our computer network is not a public forum as, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, a public entity's provision of Internet access does not create a public forum." Simply put, the fact that TSU is a public university does not mean that it provides a public forum. Because it is not a public forum, the university can not only determine what appropriate usage is, it can also filter sites it finds inappropriate. TSU has blocked less than a handful of sites, with JuicyCampus.com being added to the short and hardly growing list. According to TheFIRE.org, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, an organization that aims to defend college students, TSU is inviting a lawsuit. "In Papish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri, ... the Court wrote that '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,'" the Web site states in an article about TSU's ban. "By ignoring these precedents, Tennessee State-as a government actor-is inviting a lawsuit." Ivester, in an interview with The Meter, expressed the possibility of legal action on JuicyCampus's behalf. Ivester made no qualms about his company's opinion on the university's actions. Instead of using the Web site as a teaching tool, Ivester believes TSU decided to remove students' right to choose. "What administration is basically saying is, 'You can't be trusted to make wise decisions yourself, you can't be educated to make those decisions, so we're not going to give you that option,'" Ivester said. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the university, and more specifically its reaction to the Web site. "We're evaluating legal options," said Ivester, alum of Duke University. "There may be students who have a First Amendment case against the university." Many students acknowledge that there could be possible legal recourse, but do not think it is necessary. Terion Reynolds feels that legal recourse is imminent. "I think a lawsuit will come, but I don't think it should," said Terion Reynolds, a junior social work major from Brownsville, Tenn. Similarly, Quinton Hamilton agrees fully with the university's ban of the site. "They did the right thing," said Hamilton, a junior health sciences major from Memphis. "I mean, who wants their business-if it's true first of all-out on the Web for everyone to see?" Jennifer Butler writes for The Meter, the Tennessee State University student newspaper, which originally published this article. |
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| Posted Nov. 26, 2008 |
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