Fighting for Freedom of the Press on Campus
Fighting for Freedom of the Press on Campus | American Journalism Review
Recounting the tale of what has transpired during the past six months of Chelsea Boozer’s life has become almost second nature for the University of Memphis senior. As editor-in-chief of the Daily Helmsman at the University of Memphis, the series of events that culminated in Boozer and her staff winning the Student Press Law Center’s 2012 College Press Freedom Award mesh into one drama-filled saga. Boozer, a 21-year-old from Marion, Arkansas, will receive the award on November 3 at the National College Media Convention in Chicago.
Between March and September of this year, Boozer’s life was in a state of tumult, to use Mitt Romney’s favorite word. It all began March 28 - the day she published a column in the Helmsman calling out the University of Memphis’ director of public safety for neglecting to issue a campus-wide safety alert after learning about an on-campus rape.
Two police reports were filed that day accusing her of misconduct. The first was for causing a “disturbance” when Boozer and another Helmsman reporter said that they would be “forced to make your department look bad,” after being told the director and deputy director were unavailable to comment on the rape. The second was filed against Boozer for entering a dorm and a sorority house on campus and asking questions in a “rude and hostile” manner.
Subsequently, two university administrators met with her academic dean behind closed doors in an apparent effort to discredit her. Linda Bonnin, vice president of the Department of Communications at the university, wrote in an e-mail interview that no disciplinary action was taken after the university’s Office of Judicial and Ethical Programs looked into the matter.