Student Govt. at Catholic U. of America Voted to Ban Journalists From Quoting, Recording Them

Student Govt. at Catholic U. of America Voted to Ban Journalists From Quoting, Recording Them

Wow. It’s almost like they’re trying to act like real government officials.

The College Fix reports:

Catholic U. of America student government voted to ban journalists from quoting, recording them

The student government at Catholic University of America recently voted to ban journalists from quoting or recording them during their meetings, a decision that has been overruled by administration.

“A Bill to Enact Freedom of Deliberation in SGA Senate Meetings,” passed in mid-November, banned audio and video recording of meetings or directly quoting the student senators.

According to the resolution, individuals in the meeting room cannot “publicly publish, quote, or attribute any statement, position, or remark to a specific Senator, attendee, or member of the University community without that individual’s explicit consent.”

The dean of students at the private institution in Washington D.C. subsequently informed the student government the new rule cannot be enforced, citing the overriding University Recording Policy.

“The purpose of the Recording Policy is to promote a campus environment that supports open dialogue while respecting personal privacy and discouraging secret recordings of private meetings or conversations. However … the prohibition of recording does not extend to public events,” stated Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jon Sawyer in an email to student government leaders, according to the Tower student newspaper.

“The policy expressly states that it ‘does not apply to the recording of town halls, conferences, or other public events hosted by the University or event sponsors.’”

“In practice,” he added, “this means that when a student organization advertises or opens an event to the broader campus community …is treated as public. In those cases, the Recording Policy’s consent requirement does not apply, and attendees may record or report on what occurs.”

The university’s media relations team did not respond to a request from The College Fix seeking comment.

The Tower, an independent student newspaper at the Catholic University of America, was the primary group affected by the legislation passed by the student government, prohibiting its journalists from audio and video recording meetings.

The bill would have made official minutes the “permanent and authoritative account of the actions, motions, and remarks made in Senate proceedings.”

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