2.35.04 University Student Publications
| 2.35.04.010 | General Statement |
| Publications written by students primarily, and/or produced under the direction of students primarily, are Student Publications. | |
| 2.35.04.020 | |
| The power to enact and administer policies and procedures for student publications is vested in the Student Council through its Publications Committee and the Student Newspaper Publications Board as described below. | |
| 2.35.04.030 | |
| Students at Wayne State University shall have the right and shall be encouraged to produce Student Publications as an essential part of their education. | |
| 2.35.04.040 | |
| It is the primary responsibility of a student newspaper to objectively and accurately report events, incidents, and information related to the University community; to publish the creative efforts of students; and to provide an open forum for student opinion and editorials which shall be clearly designated as such and appear on an editorial page. | |
| 2.35.04.050 | |
| The University, recognizing that freedom and independence are vital and traditional rights of the press in a free and democratic society, guarantees those rights to Student Publications. Equally important is the responsible exercise of those powers associated with a free press, especially in an academic community which is designed to foster the free exchange of ideas. To preserve a student newspaper as an open forum for everyone, care must be exercised to assure that no student newspaper becomes the exclusive tool of any faction of the academic community. | |
| 2.35.04.060 | Student Council Publications Committee |
| Matters relating to University Student Publications, other than the official student newspaper, shall be the responsibility of the Publications Committee of the Student Council. The Council shall establish, under its by-laws, appropriate policies and procedures for the operation of its Publications Committee consistent with this statute and its preamble. | |
| 2.35.04.070 | Student Newspaper Publications Board |
| Preamble In order to provide an autonomous student press responsible to the University community through its representatives, the University establishes a Student Newspaper Publications Board which has the sole responsibility and authority to publish the Official Student Newspaper on campus. Responsibility and authority for all other matters relating to student publications shall remain with the Student Council. | |
| 2.35.04.080 | Membership |
| The Student Newspaper Publications Board (hereafter called the Board) shall consist of nine voting Directors, six of whom shall be students, three of whom shall be non-students. | |
| 2.35.04.090 | |
| The student directors shall be appointed by the Student Council by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members present and voting. The appointment shall be subject to the approval of the President of the University 1 or his/her designee (hereafter "President"). | |
| 2.35.04.100 | |
| The three non-student directors shall be appointed by the President as follows: | |
| 2.35.04.110 | |
| A representative from the Speech, Communications, Theatre and Journalism Department faculty nominated by the Academic Senate. | |
| 2.35.04.120 | |
| A member of the professional staff from either the Division of Administrative Services or the Division of Fiscal Operations. | |
| 2.35.04.130 | |
| A professional journalist from the Detroit area community, preferably a Wayne State alumnus/alumna. | |
| 2.35.04.140 | |
| The student directors must meet the general eligibility requirements prescribed in the "Policies and Procedures Manual" which the Board shall adopt and shall annually review, and, if necessary, update. | |
| 2.35.04.150 | |
| No member of the Student Council shall be a director. | |
| 2.35.04.160 | |
| A director shall at no time during his/her term of office be a member of the student newspaper. | |
| 2.35.04.170 | |
| Each director shall be appointed for a term of two years and may be reappointed. No director shall serve more than two terms in succession. | |
| 2.35.04.180 | |
| The initial appointments of directors shall be so arranged that every year not less than one-half the voting membership of the Board shall be appointed. | |
| 2.35.04.190 | |
| With the advice of the Board, the University shall appoint an advisor from the staff of the Division of Student Affairs to the student newspaper. The responsibility of the advisor shall be advisory--to provide assistance to the editor, the bookkeeper, and the Board. | |
| 2.35.04.200 | |
| The editor-in-chief of the student newspaper and the student affairs advisor shall serve as ex-officio members of the Board without vote. | |
| 2.35.04.210 | |
| The Board shall select a chairperson at the first meeting of the spring semester by the voting members of the Board from among the student directors. The chairperson shall take office immediately upon election. The chairperson shall retain the right to vote at all times. The Board may select, from among the directors, such other officers as it deems necessary. | |
| 2.35.04.220 | |
| The Board may, at any time, for any reason, remove any officer from the office by the affirmative concurrence of a majority of the directors of the Board. Such action must be taken at a regular meeting of the Board. In the case of a vacancy in the office of chairperson, caused either by resignation or removal, the Board must elect a replacement no later than its next regular meeting. | |
| 2.35.04.230 | |
| Directors shall be appointed during the first week of December, and shall take office the first day of the winter semester. | |
| 2.35.04.240 | |
| Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as governs original appointments for the remainder of the unexpired term within 30 days after the vacancies occur. | |
| 2.35.04.250 | |
| In the event that directors are not appointed as provided herein, 1 the President shall have the power to make appointments to the Publications Board who shall serve as regular members of the Board for the term for which they are appointed. Said directors shall have all rights and powers of a regular director on the Publications Board. | |
| 2.35.04.260 | |
| In the event a director has unexcused absences, as deemed by the chairperson, for three consecutive regular meetings during any given semester, that director's seat on the Board shall be declared vacant and shall be filled in the manner set forth above. | |
| 2.35.04.270 | |
| The Board may, at any time, for any reason, by the affirmative vote of seven members, remove a director from office. Such action must be taken at a regular meeting of the Board, upon no less than one week's advance notice. Upon such a removal, that director's seat shall be filled in the manner set forth above. | |
| 2.35.04.280 | Responsibilities |
| The Board shall be the publisher of the student newspaper. | |
| 2.35.04.290 | |
| The Board as publisher shall establish and insure compliance with publication, editorial and news reporting guidelines consistent with those set forth in this statute and in its preamble. | |
| 2.35.04.300 | |
| The open-forum publishing standards shall include the right of anyone to advertise in the student newspaper, except for persons with past due accounts with the student newspaper. The newspaper may not exclude any advertisements except for those which violate state or federal law or University regulations, including the regulation prohibiting advertisements offering ghost-written research or term papers, and except for those which do not conform to ordinary standards of good taste. The editor shall have the initial responsibility to determine conformance. The Board shall have the final authority to make the determination. | |
| 2.35.04.310 | |
| The channel of communication between the Board of Governors and the Publications Board shall be the President, and the Board shall meet at least once each year with the Committee of the Whole of the Board of Governors. | |
| 2.35.04.320 | |
| The Board shall assure the publication and production of a student newspaper. The Division of Student Affairs shall serve as the fiscal agent for funds provided by the University. The editor shall sign a contract acknowledging his/her responsibilities and obligations. | |
| 2.35.04.330 | |
| The Board shall meet at least twice a month, except during the spring/summer semester, when it shall meet at least once a month, on the premises of the student newspaper whenever possible. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the current active voting membership. Robert's Rules of Order shall govern its proceedings except where contradicted by this statute. | |
| 2.35.04.340 | |
| The Board shall maintain and make available a permanent set of minutes of its meetings. Such minutes shall constitute a public record. Meetings of the Board shall be conducted pursuant to the Michigan Open Meetings Act. | |
| 2.35.04.350 | |
| Within the framework of general University policies and procedures, the Board shall adopt an annual budget for the student newspaper and make the financial records of the student newspaper available for periodic audit. | |
| 2.35.04.360 | |
| The Board shall make public biannually a statement of the financial condition of the student newspaper within the first week of each academic semester. | |
| 2.35.04.370 | |
| All complaints, comments and suggestions made concerning the student newspaper shall be directed to the Board. The Board shall have the responsibility and authority to take appropriate action. | |
| 2.35.04.380 | |
| The Board shall appoint the editor-in-chief (hereafter called the editor) of the student newspaper, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. | |
| 2.35.04.390 | |
| The editor shall be appointed during the winter semester under the following conditions: | |
| 2.35.04.400 | |
| • Procedures and criteria for appointing the editor shall be established by the Board and publicized generally. Any student eligible as defined in Sec. 2.35.04.420 may submit an application for consideration by the Board. | |
| 2.35.04.410 | |
| • The editor's term of office shall be from the first day of the spring/summer semester through the last day of the winter semester of the succeeding year. | |
| 2.35.04.420 | |
| • The editor shall be an undergraduate in good standing as prescribed by the "Policies and Procedures Manual" as it exists or as it may from time to time be changed. The editor shall maintain an academic load of at least six credit hours per semester excepting spring/summer | |
| 2.35.04.430 | |
| • During the editor's term of office, the editor shall not hold office in any other student activity. | |
| 2.35.04.440 | |
| The editor shall have the freedom to establish and implement the editorial policy of the student newspaper within the framework as established by the Board and this statute as they may be amended from time to time; provided that editorials are printed on the editorial page and identified as such; the editor shall have the responsibility to objectively and accurately report events, incidents, and information primarily related to the University community; to publish the creative efforts of students; and to provide an open forum for student opinion. | |
| 2.35.04.450 | |
| The editor shall be responsible to the Board for the following: | |
| 2.35.04.460 | |
| • The editor shall direct the day-to-day editorial and news reporting within the guidelines of this statute and the "Policies and Procedures Manual". | |
| 2.35.04.470 | |
| • The editor shall appoint the editorial, advertising, circulation, and promotion staff, with the approval of the Board. All such staff members must be students in good standing as prescribed by the "Policies and Procedures Manual" as it exists or as it may from time to time be changed. The editor may remove any member of the staff for any reason, subject to normal appeal procedures as may be developed and maintained by the Students Newspaper Publications Board. | |
| 2.35.04.480 | |
| • Within the area of the editor's discretion, he or she is responsible for all material appearing in the student newspaper. The editor shall maintain the highest standards of accuracy, truthfulness, and impartiality; shall respect the rights, confidences and opinions of others; shall operate within the general policy framework of the University, and shall assure that personal beliefs, opinions, interpretations or other editorial comments shall appear only on the editorial page and be clearly labeled as such. | |
| 2.35.04.490 | |
| • The editor may propose changes in the basic design or format of the student newspaper. Such changes may be made only with the prior approval of the Board. | |
| 2.35.04.500 | |
| • The editor shall insure that all editorial commentary is appropriately identified as to source and appears on the editorial page; shall also insure that news reporting is accurate, truthful and impartial, and made without editorial comment and identified as to source. | |
| 2.35.04.510 | |
| The Board shall hire a bookkeeper whose responsibilities will include liaison in all financial and personnel matters between the Board and the Student Affairs Advisor. | |
| 2.35.04.520 | |
| • The bookkeeper shall be an employee of the University. | |
| 2.35.04.530 | |
| • The bookkeeper shall be responsible to the Board for the business records of the student newspaper. | |
| 2.35.04.540 | |
| • The bookkeeper shall maintain current personnel and financial records and convey such information to the editor on a regular basis. | |
| 2.35.04.550 | |
| • The bookkeeper is responsible for preparing a general financial status report for the editor to present to the Board on a monthly basis. | |
| 2.35.04.560 | |
| • The bookkeeper shall be responsible for processing forms following procedures established by the student affairs advisor (e.g., payroll, purchasing) and other paperwork as required for the general operation of the student newspaper. | |
| 2.35.04.570 | |
| • The bookkeeper may, consistent with University policy, arrange to hire such staff as needed with the approval of the Board. | |
| 2.35.04.580 | |
| • The bookkeeper may, consistent with University policy, remove any member of his/her staff. | |
| 2.35.04.590 | |
| • The bookkeeper shall not make financial policy. | |
| 2.35.04.600 | |
| The Board may remove the editor-in-chief at any time. In the case of a vacancy in the office of editor, caused either by resignation or removal, the Board shall adopt appropriate procedures for immediate replacement of the editor. | |
| 2.35.04.610 | |
| The Board may, consistent with University policy, relieve the bookkeeper of his/her duties at any time. | |
| 2.35.04.620 | |
| The Board shall establish procedures, and negotiate agreements and/or contracts in order to fulfill the foregoing responsibilities. All procedures, agreements, and contracts shall be made within the limits of general University policy. |
Legislative History
Adopted 6-0; Official Proceedings 18:2356 (9 November 1973) Amended 5-1; Official Proceedings 18:2399 (8 March 1974) Amended 7-0; Official Proceedings 24:3398 (9 May 1980) Amended 6-0; Official Proceedings 29:4011 (15 February 1985) Amended 6-0; Official Proceedings 30:4120 (9 May 1986) Amended 5-0; Official Proceedings 32:4358 (10 June 1988) Amended 6-0; Official Proceedings 37:4953 (16 July 1993) Prior Acts: Official Proceedings 13:1639 Official Proceedings 17:2256