KSU Settles in 1st Amendment Lawsuit

The university will redistribute almost 2,000 copies of a 7-year-old yearbook, give monetary damages to two plaintiffs and pay lawyers' fees for both sides.

But what does the settlement mean for the future of various student publications' relationship with the university?

The lawyers in the case and the Student Press Law Center, a national organization that monitors student publications' rights, disagree on the answer.

In November 1994, KSU officials confiscated almost 2,000 copies of their student yearbook, The Thorobred, on the basis that the colors used for the cover differed from the school colors. Officials also protested that several pictures used were irrelevant to campus life.

A year later, KSU students Charles Kincaid and Capri Coffer filed suit against Betty Gibson and other members of the KSU Board of Regents, citing violation of their First and 14th Amendment rights. The 14th Amendment protects all rights of U.S. citizens as outlined in the Bill of Rights from any kind of abridgement or infringement from state laws.

The plaintiffs sought redistribution of the yearbook and monetary damages.

As Kincaid v. Gibson passed through various courts, two lower courts granted KSU's motion to dismiss students' 14th Amendment rights due to the nonpublic nature of the yearbook. But the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision.

Instead of appealing to a higher court, KSU opted to settle the case, putting an end to the suit once and for all.

SPLC Director Mark Goodman said he is happy the case was finally settled. "(The decision) repeats the lesson that schools that censor their student media do so at their own peril," he said. "Look at how much they spent in the settlement. Was it a wise investment? Clearly it wasn't."

But Guthrie True, attorney to the university, said the decision to settle does not set any significant precedent and that if a university wants to restrict student publications, it can still be done.

"A very narrowly drawn regulatory document could still restrict a student publication," he said. "It depends on the regulations and the way that a university treats the publication."

In public forums such as the Internet, anybody who desires to express his opinions can contribute to the forum. Nonpublic forums, such as brochures, serve primarily as speakers for private institutions, with the institution as the sole contributor to the forum.

Limited public forums such as The Thorobred exist somewhere in between. The definition of the limited public forum is ever-changing and is determined only by the boundaries of what is public and nonpublic. The Thorobred was deemed a limited public forum because the court felt it was not set up and treated as a nonpublic forum.

Winter Huff, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said future publications would not run as great a risk of censorship as it would seem. "It's a university publication if the school is going to have ultimate authority over it," Huff said. "You're not going to find students willing to work on a publication that's simply a mouthpiece for the university."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.