Group 8 Question 38: A student newspaper is under pressure...

Official Explanation:

A student newspaper is under pressure from the school’s administration after publishing an editorial column criticizing the university president. Though the student newspaper is fully funded by advertisement revenue and student-run fundraising, it is administratively located under the Dean of Students. The Dean of Students has instructed the students to retract the column and fire the columnist. The students refuse.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the students’ decision to refuse to yield to their school administration?

A. The Dean of Students advises the paper and must be listened to.
B. The editorial column in question directly criticizes the Dean of Students.
C. The Dean of Students has no editorial control over the student newspaper.
D. The editor-in-chief of the student newspaper is also an employee in the Dean of Students’ office.
E. Students are not protected by the First Amendment.

Question Type: Strengthen
Boil It Down: Student newspaper published a column that criticized their university’s president. The Dean of Students is in charge of the paper, and told the students to retract the column and fire the person who wrote it. The students refuse to do that.
Goal: Find the option that best strengthens the students’ argument that they should keep the story and not fire the writer of the story.

Analysis:

So, we have a bit of a scandal in the university newspaper department! Students chose to publish a column that openly criticized their university president, and now their administrator is demanding they write a retraction (a formal apology) and fire the student who wrote it. We know the students refused to do either, but we don’t know WHY they chose to do so. There are two things that we do know to give us some context:

Fact #1: The student newspaper is not funded by the university. It is paid for by advertisements and fundraisers done outside the school.

Fact #2: In the United States of America, members of the press (even if they are students) are protected under the First Amendment, which allows them to publish pieces that criticize the government or other leadership without fear of punishment.

Knowing what we know now, we need to find the option that best explains HOW/WHY the students are able to refuse to comply with their school’s administration without facing any consequences:

A. The Dean of Students advises the paper and must be listened to.
A is incorrect because the students are protected by both the First Amendment and separate funding. This means they don't really have to listen to the Dean of Students. He/She is an advisor - not their boss.

B. The editorial column in question directly criticizes the Dean of Students.
B is incorrect because the passage clearly indicates that the column criticizes the president. That doesn't explain WHY they are allowed to get away with not writing a retraction or firing the writer.

C. The Dean of Students has no editorial control over the student newspaper.
C is correct because, per the funding sources described in the passage, the Dean of Students’ office has no editorial control over the student newspaper and cannot abridge the students’ rights to freedom of the press. THIS is how the students can get away with refusing the Dean of Students!

D. The editor-in-chief of the student newspaper is also an employee in the Dean of Students’ office.
D is incorrect because, even if true, this is irrelevant to editorial control.

E. Students are not protected by the First Amendment.
E is incorrect because students are protected by the First Amendment.

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