Session: Unfunny: Satire, Censorship, and Student PublicationsVerdict: I’m sad I’m not as smart as these peopleBy Dori Zinn Opinions Editor

Yes, they were lawyers, but Will Creeley and Emily Guildry from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education were fantastic speakers.

The main point of the session discussed that there is, in fact, free speech that is protected by the First Amendment. However, what you say is noticed and what you say has consequences. Even if worthless charges are dropped, some student papers still face embarrassment due to their stance on certain issues. Know that you still have rights under the constitution, but it doesn’t necessarily protect your reputation.

Creeley and Guildry mentioned that a lot of the times, administration and school officials that bring charges to school newspapers about what they have printed don’t usually have a solid knowledge about how the newspaper’s rights are protected. Once FIRE proves that they are, in fact, supported by the Constitution, the school drops charges because they want to save themselves further embarrassment.

A fantastic suggestion from Creeley and Guildry was how to get the knowledge of the First Amendment out to students. Starting early on, like having a session at freshman orientation, is what can grab incoming student’s attention on a subject they don’t really know too much about. Reel them in young and keep them on the line until they can reel in the next group of young and eager fish that don’t know enough about a lot of things.

For more information about how to know what you can and cannot right, or even questions about anything, visit www.thefire.org .

Session: Surviving Critics and CensorsVerdict: Decently cool By Steve Rivera, Staff Writer

This was funny, interesting and informative to say the least. Mark Schnaeder from Rochester Community & Technical College explained where criticism comes from and how to handle it.

By offering some guidelines like “Don’t Panic,” some rules, and some ways to prepare and survive criticism to the backdrop of his experiences as the advisor of a two-year community and technical college, Schnaeder had a really good session. He seemed like a naturally cool guy, which came out in his presentation, and I felt like he was on my level; which totally kept me interested. Speaking of cool, Schnaeder had handouts with all his points.