The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent a letter to Long Beach City College President Mike Muñoz raising concerns about the district’s handling of a student journalist conduct investigation, expressing how these actions can have a chilling effect on future journalism.
The July 27 letter concerned the investigation into Paloma Maciel, then co-editor-in-chief of The Viking News, after she questioned administrators about alleged irregularities during the Associated Student Body spring election process.
FIRE said investigations of student journalists over their reporting activities can discourage students from pursuing stories involving college administrators.
“To have the threat of disciplinary investigations and hearing hanging over your head because you may ask questions that administrators don’t like or that they see as confrontational is inevitably going to make you think twice about how you’re going to do your reporting,” Marie McMullan, program manager and counsel for the Student Press Reform Initiative, told The Viking.
According to Maciel, the investigation began after an interaction between her and ASB adviser Kim Hamon on May 8.
Maciel explained she had been reporting on the ASB election that day because she wanted students to understand the election process and the role of student government.
“I had went to meetings, but in my mind, I’m still new to this as well. So, I just wanted to see [ASB’s] responsibilities so that I could put it into perspectives for students, like, why they should care,” Maciel said. “I wanted to put in my article the responsibilities so I can say, ‘The results are not out, and this is why it matters.’ That was kinda my thought process.”
According to Maciel, she interviewed Dean of Student Affairs Deborah Miller-Calvert about the election and then attempted to interview Hamon. Hamon declined to comment and left her office. Maciel left shortly afterwards, unable to obtain additional information.
On May 11, Maciel received a student conduct letter alleging she physically blocked Hamon from leaving their office, made Hamon feel unsafe and failed to comply with a request to leave. The letter threatened disciplinary sanctions.
“I feel like that was far from the truth because I was asking questions,” Maciel said. “I think if anything, you just have to answer the question. I don’t know how that was aggressive.”
Maciel said receiving the conduct letter was particularly stressful because she was nearing graduation and feared the investigation could affect her ability to graduate.
The conduct process continued into June. According to Maciel, she met with Executive Vice President of Student Services Nohel Corral about the incident report just days before graduation. Corral sent her a letter the following day ending the investigation and removing the threat of discipline.
FIRE learned about Maciel’s case through local media coverage of the controversy at LBCC and later contacted the district over what it viewed as First Amendment and student press concerns.
“We really relied on the storytelling already happening from their decision that it was important to us to outline to LBCC the First Amendment and free press concerns from student journalists,” McMullan said.
FIRE also questioned the allegations contained in the conduct complaint, saying the claim that Maciel physically blocked Hamon from leaving appeared inconsistent with the allegation that Hamon was forced to flee.
When asked how important it is for a college to verify allegations before beginning a formal disciplinary process against a student journalist, the FIRE representative said an initial review can help establish what happened.
“Its always important to make sure you have all the facts,” McMullan said.
In its Aug. 7 response to the letter sent by FIRE, Executive Vice President of Student Services Nohel Corral said the college could not discuss details of the student conduct matter because of student privacy and confidentiality requirements.
However, Corral said the District “strongly supports” freedom of expression and freedom of the press and considers a free and independent student press an important part of the educational experience and an informed campus community. He cited Administrative Procedure 4500, Student News Media, which it said affirms freedom of expression and press rights consistent with California Education Code Section 66301.
McMullan said FIRE welcomed the district’s stated commitment to student press rights and offered to work with LBCC to improve its policies, practices and training surrounding students’ First Amendment rights, but the organization had not received a response about arranging training.
“Just making sure that the officials who carry out these procedures are doing so in a way that conforms with the First Amendment is definitely the top priority,” McMullan said.
The Viking made several attempts to meet with Corral to discuss LBCC’s initiative to institutionally support and protect student journalism, including how administrators are trained on student press rights and how the district approaches First Amendment protections on campus.
Statements sent to relevant LBCC staff and forwarded to The Viking reiterating LBCC’s commitment to supporting freedom of press but did not establish what training that entails.
A request for an interview with Corral was denied.
FIRE said it does not currently plan to send another letter to the district but will continue monitoring the situation.
“At this stage we’re keeping an eye open and wanting to make sure that everything’s okay with the student journalists there,” McMullan said.
For Maciel, training is also one of the changes she believes could prevent similar disputes between students and administrators.
“I think it was good that [FIRE] reached out, and they let [LBCC] know that they’re there for support. In my perspective, I don’t know if the school knew how to handle it, but the way that they handled it was obviously wrong. I think just having that resource there can help in the legal way, and guide [LBCC] on how to process these cases in the future,” Maciel said.
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