General Description
Policy Summary:
shall be exercised through the Board of Campus Publications. This Charter establishes the Board of Campus Publications and the relationship between the campus newspaper and yearbook and the University. It sets forth editorial, business, advertising, and personnel policies for the newspaper and yearbook.
Purpose:
student ideas and opinion can exist. At the same time, Trinity University recognizes its
obligation to ensure the continued responsible operation of the officially recognized campus
publications.
Scope:
by the President of Trinity University, under authority of the Board of Trustees, to supervise
the campus publications as the governing body and publisher.
Policy Content
- The purpose of the Board of Campus Publications shall be to act as sole publisher and supervisor of the Trinity University newspaper and yearbook.
- The purpose of the Trinitonian is to serve as a campus communication link between students, faculty, staff, and other readers during the academic year; to inform the Trinity University community of campus events and developments of importance and general interest; to provide a forum for free and open exchange of ideas and opinions; to provide an innovative learning experience in a laboratory environment which emulates that of a professional newspaper.
- The purpose of the Mirage is to annually document activities, interests, and events involving students, while still reflecting the larger University community; to include a section on each class (first year, sophomore, junior, senior) with each member's name and photograph as well as a similar section on faculty including coverage of the administration and staff; to strive for fair and balanced coverage of major events on campus including all groups, clubs, and organizations, athletics, student life, and academics providing a historical view of life that year at Trinity University; and to provide an innovative learning experience in a laboratory environment which emulates that of a professional publication.
- Each campus publication should clearly state its purposes in a policy manual or other procedural document that is to be approved by the Board of Campus Publications.
- Approved December 1990
A. The Faculty Senate will recommend the faculty members, the Student Government Association will recommend the student members, and the president of the University will appoint all faculty, student, and administrative members of the Board of Campus Publications. All members shall be appointed on the basis of their knowledge of University publications, their awareness of the freedoms and legal liabilities of the press, their business management skills, and their knowledge of the supervisory role of a publisher.
B. The University is the publisher of campus publications, but the function of the publisher shall be exercised through the Board of Campus Publications. The Board shall supervise the publishing of the campus newspaper, if one is published, the annual, if such is published, and any other publication begun or adopted by the Board or assigned to it by the president of the University.
C. The Board of Campus Publications shall supervise the fiscal operations of the publications under its jurisdiction. With approval from the Board, the Campus Publications business manager may request student activity fee funds from the Student Government Association. Funds allocated by SGA will be delivered to the Board of Campus Publications.
- Campus publications are representative of the University.
- Campus publications are the primary means of communication on campus and shall be open to all segments of the University.
- Campus publications shall be governed by the canons of responsible journalism, such as the avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, unsupported attacks on personal integrity, and techniques of harassment and innuendo. Editors shall adhere to commonly recognized standards of truth, decency, and fairness.
- The Board will participate in the selection of the Campus Publications adviser. If the Board is not in session, such as during the summer, available faculty and administrative committee members and appropriate student representatives will be included in the process. The president of the University will make the appointment.
- The Board of Campus Publications may remove from office any of the student publications executives, but only through orderly and prescribed procedures as established by the Board and the adviser. All publications executives selected by the Board are responsible and accountable directly to the adviser and the Board.
F. The Board of Campus Publications shall provide a grievance policy.
G. The Board of Campus Publications shall meet at least six times during the school year and shall regularly assess how well each campus publication is meeting its guidelines and its own operating practices and policies
H. The Board must periodically review the nature and roles of its publications.
I. The Board of Campus Publications shall secure expert consultants as needed to inform itself regarding contemporary publishing standards, journalism practice, business management, publishing law, and other areas.
J. The Board and the adviser shall establish written rules of procedure governing its own activities. These rules shall include procedures for the selection of editors and managers under its supervision; procedures for the orderly removal of such editors, managers, and staff members when necessary; and procedures for exercising its supervisory role over the publications.
I. PURPOSE
The Board of Campus Publications of Trinity University is a University committee composed of four students, three faculty members, and one administrator with responsibility for the general supervision of student publications receiving partial financial support from the student activity fee.
II. RESPONSIBILITY
1. supervises and monitors business and advertising operations of campus publications, including monitoring spending and helping develop budgets;2. deals with the day-to-day business and editorial problems that arise, working with student staff to resolve conflict, providing advice on all aspects of publishing, and serving as mediator when required;3. creates an educational environment for students in Campus Publications to learn all aspects of publishing. Such an environment includes development of training programs, personnel recruitment, critiques, and development of a publishing structure;4. recognizes and seeks to mitigate the potential for conflicts of interest between teaching/advising duties and roles as University staff member and as a private citizen;5. advises and reports to the Board of Campus Publications as to the development of policies and guidelines which provide structure and the direction for Campus Publications. Also reports progress and/or problems in Campus Publications to the Board and implements special projects as directed by the Board; and6. serves as secretary to the Board of Campus Publications.
Membership
The Board of Campus Publications consists of three faculty members and one administrator chosen in the same manner as are faculty members chosen for other Trinity University committees. Four student members are appointed in the same manner as other students chosen for Trinity University committees.
When addressing Board business, the primary obligation of the members will be to the benefit of the Campus Publications program and the Board itself.
Members of the Board of Campus Publications shall assume their membership at the beginning of the fall semester.
Executive staff members of Campus Publications and the publications adviser shall be non-voting members of the Board of Campus Publications. Voting Board members cannot be Campus Publications staff members.
The president of Trinity University and the vice president for Student Life are ex officio members of the Board of Campus Publications.
If Board members must resign from the Board of Campus Publications, they must notify the chair or convener in writing at least two weeks (if possible) before their resignation will take effect.
Officers
The Board of Campus Publications, at its first meeting each year, shall elect from its membership a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and any other officers which it deems desirable. The Campus Publications adviser will serve as secretary. These officers shall serve throughout the academic year.
The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Campus Publications if possible and shall perform the duties and responsibilities usually performed by the presiding officer of a University committee. The chairperson may appoint, with the approval of the Board, such committees as the Board of Campus Publications deems desirable. It shall also be the chairperson’s responsibility to see that ample notice in writing is given whenever possible to all members of the Board of meeting dates, times, and places.
The vice chairperson shall preside at meetings of the Board of Campus Publications in the absence of the chairperson and shall perform such other duties as are designated by the chairperson and/or Board of Campus Publications.
The secretary shall keep minutes of each meeting of the Board of Campus Publications, preserve these in an appropriate manner, and submit copies to each member of the Board as well as to other administrative persons as required by University regulations.
Meetings
The Board of Campus Publications shall be convened by the designated convener for its first meeting of the year by the sixth week of the fall semester at which time it will elect officers and conduct any other necessary business.
There shall be a minimum of six meetings of the Board of Campus Publications during the academic year. The convener will call the first meeting, and subsequent meetings will be called by the chairperson.
The chairperson shall prepare a docket for each meeting and shall submit this docket to the membership of the Board of Campus Publications at the beginning of the meeting for approval, alteration, or rejection. Once a docket is approved, it shall be followed unless the Board votes otherwise by a two-thirds majority of those members present. A quorum for a meeting shall be a simple majority of the membership. The chairperson is a voting member in all cases. A tie vote means that the matter under consideration fails to pass.
Ordinarily, meetings of the Board of Campus Publications shall be open to any member of the Trinity University community, but the Board may, by a three-fourths majority vote of those members present, go into “executive session” and close its meeting to non-members.
Except where these Rules of Procedure specify differently, meetings of the Board of Campus Publication shall be conducted according to the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
a. deliberately restricting production output or concealing defective work;
b. indulging in grossly offensive or obscene conduct;
c. presenting as one's work the work of someone else without properly acknowledging the source -- i.e., plagiarism;
d. stealing or misappropriation of Trinity University property or property belonging to other employees;
e. fighting;
f. any other act not listed above but considered by Trinity University, the Board of Campus Publications, or student publications executives as constituting major misconduct, insubordination, gross negligence, or gross disregard of an obligation to a campus publication as an employee.
All other violations require appropriate disciplinary action.
a. Prepare a memorandum which lists the employee’s infractions or misconduct. Be specific about the behaviors observed, resultant outcomes, dates, times, and places.
b. Hold a meeting with the employee and discuss the situation and what behavior is desired. Set a date for a future meeting to review the employee’s progress.
c. At the conclusion of the discussion, ask the individual to acknowledge receipt of the memorandum by signing it. Provide the employee and the Campus Publications adviser with copies.
d. Hold the follow-up meeting. If the problem has not been corrected, consider discharge as an option.
1. As appropriate, write a letter to the Campus Publications executive, stating the complaint and the desired action. The executive should respond within five working days.
2. If the complainant is not satisfied with the response, she or he may write the adviser of Campus Publications within five working days of the executive’s response. The adviser will arrange a meeting between the complainant and the staff persons involved. The results of that meeting will be documented.
3. If the complainant is still not satisfied, she or he may take the case to the Board of Campus Publications by writing the chair within five academic days of the meeting with the Campus Publications adviser. The complaint will be considered by the Board at its next meeting.
Publications executives may resign from their positions with appropriate notice (preferably two weeks) by writing the adviser and chair of the Board of Campus Publications.
Relationship between Editors, Business Manager, and Advertising Director
Campus Publications executives may occasionally find disputes in their separate spheres of responsibility. If a dispute arises which they cannot resolve, they must meet with the adviser, who will act as mediator to resolve the situation.
If publication executives cannot resolve their dispute, the adviser will render a decision on the matter. If the publication executives are not satisfied, they may appeal to the Board by writing a letter to the chair, describing the problem and the results of the mediated session with the adviser.
The chair will then refer the matter to the Board at its next meeting for a decision regarding standing policy.
a. The editorial view (opinion) of the Trinitonian may be developed by the editor with the assistance of an editorial board with the main responsibility resting with the editor of the publication. It is the editor’s responsibility to make sure the content of these opinion pieces is well researched and developed, and meets other editorial criteria and policies as established by the adviser, student editors and managers, and the Board of Campus Publications. All opinion pieces must meet the standards used by the professional press.
b. While other staff members may contribute to discussions regarding any editorial, the editorial itself must be written by the editor or a member of the editorial board which consists of the editor, managing editor, section editors, and others as selected by the editor. New members to this board (persons hired after initial fall training) must participate in an editorial writing tutorial with the adviser in order to be qualified to write an editorial piece. Other staff may not write editorials without specific instruction as provided by the adviser, and then only with the specific permission of the adviser.
c. While editorials will not be censored except under provisions provided through the Board of Campus Publications, the adviser reserves the right to disqualify a student staff member from writing editorials based on skills and/or lack of specific training.
d. Names of the editorial board will be published each week on the editorial pages of the Trinitonian.
a. Letters to the editor may be submitted to the Trinitonian by Trinity students, faculty, staff, or outside individuals. Letter length depends on space available. Letters can be edited for taste, style, and libel, in accordance with guidelines established by the Board of Campus Publications.
b. Letters must be signed by individuals and cannot be anonymous. Letters cannot be signed by groups, such as a club or sorority, but several names can be printed with the published letter if they are legible and do not exceed space limitations. Letters should include name, address, and phone number to be considered for publication. Letters can be submitted by e-mail but must be confirmed as authentic via a phone call.
c. Letters that can be determined to contain incorrect information will be rejected by the editor. If a particular event or subject results in numerous letters being submitted, only the most representative of those letters will be printed on a space available basis and at the discretion of the editor.
9. Corrections: Mistakes and confusions are inevitably a part of a newspaper’s existence. However, as with the professional press, the Trinitonian will publicly correct errors and misunderstandings in an appropriate time frame (the next issue after discovering an error). Mistakes made by staff or outsources will be recognized and corrected in a simple and direct fashion. Corrections will appear in the same spot in the paper each week. Mistakes in the Mirage will be clarified in the first issue of the fall Trinitonian following Mirage publication in the spring.
Business Procedures
Operating budgets, advertising rates, subscription rates, book prices, and any requests for funds must be approved by the Board. Prior to submitting a request for student activity fee funds to the Student Government Association in the spring for the academic year beginning in the upcoming fall, the incoming business manager and advisor, in consultation with the outgoing business manager and all other incoming editors and managers, will develop the budgets for each publication.
With the exception of Trinitonian advertising contracts, contracts for either publication must be co-signed by the business manager and adviser, who serves as an agent of the Board, except during summer months when a business manager may not be available on campus. In addition, the adviser, serving as an agent of the Board, will sign all University check request forms.
The Board of Campus Publications retains the right to control whether or not advertising will be sold for placement in the Trinitonian or Mirage. The Board will set the basic rates for on- and off-campus advertising. The Board will also set the price for Mirage book sales and Trinitonian subscription prices each spring.
The Board shall also regulate the distribution of the Trinitonianand the Mirage on the Trinity University campus.
The Board of Campus Publications will expect that the business manager and adviser to adhere to University business guidelines. In addition to working directly with the University business office, the Campus Publications business office shall work directly with personnel regarding payroll.
The chair of the Board of Campus Publications will receive notification from the business manager and adviser when a budget line item is expected to exceed 10 percent of the budgeted amount. The chairperson will call a special meeting if necessary to approve the expenditure or put the item on the docket at the next regular meeting. Capital equipment purchases are also to be approved by the Board.
Code of Ethics
The Board of Campus Publications applies the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists to the Campus Publications program. The Code of Ethics can be found in its entirety in the Campus Publications Manual.
1. Write a letter to the publication’s editor, describing the grievance and suggesting action for the editor to take. If the complainant wishes that the letter to the editor not be printed in the publication, such a wish must be explicitly stated in the letter.
2. If the complainant is not satisfied with the editor’s response, he/she may write the adviser of Campus Publications within five academic days of the editor’s response. The adviser will arrange a joint meeting of the involved staff persons and the complainant in order to resolve the situation or, if the complainant wishes, the adviser will meet with the complainant only. The results of such meetings will be documented for the Board of Campus Publications, the complainant, and the editors involved.
3. If the complainant is still not satisfied and wishes to take his/her case to the Board of Campus Publications, he/she may do so by writing the chair (or, if one has yet to be elected, the convener) of the Board of Campus Publications within five academic days of the meeting with the adviser. If the complainant wants a response from the committee, that wish must be explicitly stated in the letter.
4. The chair will arrange for the complainant’s grievance to appear on the next agenda of the Board of Campus Publications meeting. The complainant may be present at the meeting (notified by the adviser). The Board will respond to the complainant within five days of this meeting.
1. No advertisement that solicits individuals for human-conception services shall be permitted.
2. No advertisements shall be published for organizations that are formed to suppress or harm individuals, groups, or specific segments of the population.
3. The Trinitonian will accept advertisements from any establishment providing the advertisement does not advocate unlawful activity, is not false or misleading, and does not promote excessive or abusive behavior.
1. The Campus Publications pages will comply with University policies.
2. The Campus Publications pages will be managed by the Campus Publications adviser, who will work with CP staff to be sure the section fulfills its purpose.
3. The primary purpose of the Campus Publications pages will be to market CP publications and the CP program.4. Anyone with a grievance will be asked to follow the Grievance Policy established by the Board of Campus Publications.
1. The Trinitonian editors, with approval from the Board of Campus Publications, will decide the publishing platform for the newspaper’s stand-alone website. The University will execute formal contracts, which will comply with the advertising policy established by the Board.
2. The website will contain masthead information (name of publication, most recent date published, volume and number, etc.) for identification purposes.
3. The website will be managed by the Trinitonian webmaster, who will work with the Trinitonian editors.
4. The website will be produced with adherence to the canons of responsible journalism.
5. Corrections printed in the Trinitonian will also be posted at the website only if the mistake was previously posted.6. Anyone with a grievance will be asked to follow the Grievance Policy established by the Board.
1. At the end of each academic year, Campus Publications will make all published photos available to the Trinity University Archives in a suitable digital format.
2. Trinity University Archives will be responsible for directing anyone who uses Campus Publications photographs to properly credit Campus Publications and the individual photographer, if known.
3. The adviser will oversee delivery of published pages to the Trinity University Archives.
Provisions for Amendments
Amendments to this document must be passed by a two-thirds vote of those members present at two successive meetings of the Board of Campus Publications. These two meetings must be separated by a period of at least seven calendar days.
The Board of Campus Publications may, by a two-thirds majority vote of those members present, temporarily suspend any of the provisions of the Rules of Procedures.
Attachments
Attachments:
Revision Management
Revision History Log:
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| v1.0 | 7/22/2019 7:03 AM | Katharine Martin |
Vice President Approval:
Enter Vice President(s) that are responsible for approving this document
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| Sheryl Tynes | Vice President for Student Life |