Frozen in San Diego

From this morning’s Inside Higher Ed:

Student Government Freezes Funds for Student Media at UC-San Diego

The student government president at the University of California at San Diego temporarily froze funding for all student-financed media operations on the campus after members of a student media group made racially charged comments on a broadcast, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The incident, which was the second involving derogatory comments about black students in a matter of weeks, led the president of the student government to freeze student funding for all media outlets while the campus drafts a new policy on funding student media. The Guardian, the student newspaper, which does not receive student fee support, blasted the decision in an editorial entitled "Stopping the Presses Won't Heal the Hurt."

Meanwhile, at the Chronicle of Higher Ed:

Student Media Groups at UC-San Diego Lose Funds Amid Controversy Over Race and Speech

The head of the student government at the University of California at San Diego has temporarily suspended funds for all of the university's student-run media outlets after a broadcast prompted new outrage in a controversy over a party mocking Black History Month, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The broadcast was produced by The Koala, a controversial campus humor magazine, and aired over the student-run television station last Thursday. The freeze on funds, which affects 33 student media outlets, has in turn prompted complaints of muzzling free speech. Utsav Gupta, the student-government president, said he wanted the campus to craft a new policy for student media groups before lifting the freeze.

Also in IHE:

Merced Bans Chancellor-Mocking Art From Exhibit

The University of California at Merced has banned from an art exhibit a student's series of photographs that mock Chancellor Steve Kang, the Associated Press reported. The photos, among other things, show the chancellor speaking into a microphone that has been covered with a condom. University officials said that the art exhibit is billed as a family event and that this series was inappropriate. A video by the student, showing and explaining her work, may be found here. She writes: "My piece is a reflection of the torn feelings students face when discovering themselves. It outlines the ability to love two different campus idols: Steve Kang, our chancellor, and Lady Gaga, a pop idol."

And at the always entertaining OC Reg:

School board adopts patriotic policies

FULLERTON - All high school classrooms in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District will display the American flag and hold a patriotic activity on a daily basis after a 5-0 vote Tuesday by district trustees.

The new policies were researched and developed by an eight-member student advisory council in the past four months.

"The whole goal of these policies is for students to have an appreciation for the country we live in, and for all our freedoms," said Amanda Wong, the district's student board member – and a senior at Sunny Hills High School – who led the council effort.

A handful of students and residents complained to the board last July that the district wasn't following the state Education Code, and urged trustees to adopt a written policy.
. . .
"Our fear was that if the (Pledge of Allegiance) were recited every day, we could lose touch with the students," Wong said. "So, we decided that period of time could also be used to read a quote from one of our presidents, read a patriotic passage, discuss the meaning of words in the pledge or hold a moment of silence.
. . .
Ultimately, the council decided those students who chose not to participate must remain silent, Wong said….