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Monday, Nov. 13, 2017
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FREE SPEECH
Court awards anti-abortion group after campus debacle $15,000
Will be paid by the National Education Agency for student’s attorney fees and associated costs
$2,000
In total will be paid by NEA to two students for damages
By Razmik Cañas @Raz_Canas
T
he Fresno State professor accused last semester of violating a campus club’s free speech rights claims he did nothing wrong. Greg Thatcher, professor of public health, said last week that he never admitted to any wrongdoing after a campus club accused him in court of violating its freedom of speech at an event on campus. Last May, “Fresno State Students for Life” claimed that Thatcher had advised at least seven of his students to erase anti-abortion chalk writings near the Free Speech Area. A video shows multiple students wiping out the messages as well as Thatcher. The club said it had permission from Student Involvement and facilities management services to write the “pro-life” messages on the sidewalks. But Thatcher disagreed, saying the incident had nothing to do with free speech. “This was simply a matter of policy,” Thatcher said. “I felt they were breaking university policy – this was never an issues of free speech.” According to Travis C. Barham, the attorney representing the club’s students, said Thatcher was ordered to pay $17,000 in fines. Thatcher, however, will not be paying the fines. Instead, the National Education Agency (NEA) will cover the costs since Thatcher was
Courtesy of Students For Life YouTube
Public health professor Dr. Greg Thatcher seen in a YouTube video by student pro-life organization, Students For Life, erasing pro-life messages near the University Center in May.
included in its insurance policy. The NEA will pay the $17,000 – $1,000 for each student and $15,000 in attorney’s fees. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Bernadette Tasy and Jesus Herrera, student leaders of the club. Barham said that Thatcher had an obligation to allow all students to exercise their free speech rights. “As the video vividly demonstrates, Thatcher ignored this obligation,” Barham said. “What he did was wrong and blatantly violated the First Amendment.” Tasy and Herrera were chosen to receive the $1,000 each because they were the two club members involved in planning the chalk-writing event. “This sum compensates them for the lost opportunity to speak on campus—both that day and thereafter—and the bullying they endured,” Barham said. He added that the settlement represents a victory for free speech for students of all
See FREE SPEECH, Page 3
HALL OF FAME
Department recognizes its notable alumni By Hayley Salazar @Hayley_Salazarr
The green screens in the broadcast studio in the Speech Arts Building were traded for elegant black curtains last week as the media, communications and journalism department honored scholarship recipients, fellows and two hall of famers. Hannah Wrathall, a fourth-year student majoring in public relations, was one of six students to receive the Bernard A. Shepard journalism/public relations scholarship. She was among the 30 scholarship recipients. “I was in shock to receive this, and I’m just super excited for the opportunity, and I can’t express how thankful I am,” she said. Wrathall said she loves that the MCJ major has helped her become involved within the department. “I used to be super quiet and shy, and becoming an MCJ major has brought me out of my shell,” Wrathall said. One alumni of the MCJ department
Benjamin Cruz • The Collegian
(Left) Fresno State professor emeritis Jim Tucker and (Right) alumnus and former Fresno Bee reporter Joe Rosato, Sr. gets inducted into the Media, Communications and Journalism Hall of Fame on Nov. 9, 2017.
who got his share of career experience after graduating from Fresno State was Joe Rosato Sr., a former Fresno Bee reporter. Rosato was one of two inductees into the
MCJ Hall of Fame. Rosato was a member of “The Bee Four,” a group of four Fresno Bee journalists who were jailed for 15 days in 1976 for keeping
their journalistic integrity in refusing a court order to expose a confidential news source. Jim Tucker, professor emeritus of journalism at Fresno State who served as chair of the MCJ department for 12 years, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. His greater achievements include laying the groundwork for diversifying the program. “This department is so special to me,” he said. “There’s something so special to me about Fresno State.” Eight fellows, who are at the prime of their careers, were also recognized in the Hall of Fame event. The fellows include: Albert Cano, manager of local media research at Univision Communications; Michael Carr, news director at ABC30 KFSN Television; Chris Chiames, senior vice president for corporate communications at Sabre; Public relations professor and soon-to-be chair of the MCJ department, Betsy Hays. Hays said she first stepped foot on the Fresno State campus in 1989 as a 19-year-
See HALL OF FAME, Page 3