August 25, 2011
Hi. My name is Christopher Brown. I am a journalism major. I am from Defiance, Oh. I like music and reading. I plan on joining the Peace Corps and traveling for a substantial amount of time after I graduate. As of now, once I finally start a career I hope to be an environmental writer.
August 25, 2011
Hello everyone. My name is Jane Burichin and I am a junior here at BGSU. Currently I am a Public Relations major and a Marketing minor. I love communication and people so PR is a right fit for me and I hope to score my dream job of working at a top PR firm in a big time city. This past summer I did an internship with the BGNews as a general reporter.
I am from Strongsville, Ohio (Cleveland area) which is where I was born and raised. I am super close with my gigantic family and love spending time with friends. Some interesting facts about me is that I am a part of the sorority Alpha Xi Delta here on campus, my favorite sport is hockey and I am completely obsessed with any movie that plays on Lifetime Movie Network. 
August 25, 2011
Hello my name is Darcy Rumbaugh. I am a TCOM major/Journalism minor at BGSU. I am a senior. I love journalism and media studies. I am an avid news junkie and reader in general. I am an older student, who already completed an associates and a technical degree in Albany, NY. I have interned in Philadelphia at FOX News (my brother is also a photog and truck operator there) and WTEN/ABC in Albany. I work as the Final Cut tech here on campus, and I also freelance for a video company all over the U.S. shooting youth hockey tournaments.
When I am not involved in a media related task, I love to cook, garden, read, and mostly I love to travel and try to do so as much as possible.
August 25, 2011
I am Meagan Ward. I’m currently a Junior at BGSU, majoring in Journalism, with a minor in political science. My two passions in life are writing and politics, so I am hoping to achieve my career goal of becoming a political columnist.
I moved to the Toledo area as a sophomore in high school, but grew up in Normal, Illinois. Living in Toledo has been beneficial for I was able to intern at the Toledo City Paper of arts and entertainment. There, I got to write about many upcoming musical events, bands, book signings and organizations.Other than school, I enjoy spending time with my family, friends and my four month old puppy, Sophia! She is an adorable Yorkshire Terrier and Shih Tzu Mix.
August 24, 2011
Hello everyone. My name is Matt Thacker. I am 34 years-old, and live in Perrysburg with my wife–who is in law school at UT–and my beautiful 3 year-old daughter. I am majoring in journalism and minoring in political science here at BGSU.
I spent most of my adult life playing bass and singing harmony in a bluegrass band. We traveled all over the United States playing and even went overseas to play a few times.
At age 31, I became a father and decided that the best way to demonstrate the importance of education to my daughter, was to go back to school and become educated myself. I have followed politics all of my adult life, and would like to, one day, make a difference in some way by working in that field.
Since April, I have been writing an Op/Ed column for the BG News, which focuses mainly on politics and social issues. My ultimate goal is to either write a nationally syndicated Op/Ed column, or to be a political consaultant/speech writer.
August 24, 2011
Hola, bonjour, guten tag, aloha, shalom, and hello! My name’s Kelsey and most people call me Kelsey. No interesting nicknames here. (Aside from the occasional “Butthead” from my older brother.) I’m a junior women’s studies major here at BGSU, with minors in sociology and journalism. I’m from the Massillon, Ohio area. I have experience in a number of odd jobs, the most interesting of which is teaching music. Currently, I’m employed as a writing tutor at the BGSU Learning Commons.
I came to BGSU in Fall 2009 as a journalism major intending to go into print journalism. I was the editor ofmy high school newspaper as a senior and enjoyed it, so I figured I would give journalism a shot. In Spring of 2010, however, I found my true calling. I had needed to fill some extra credit hours after dropping a Spanish class (that’s a rather dramatic story) and Intro to Women’s Studies was just about the only open class the fit my schedule. At this point, all I knew about women’s studies is that it had something to do with hairy armpits and burning bras. I was up for playing with fire as much as the next girl, so I dove in. Obviously, I did not find what I expected. Almost immediately, I knew that I had discovered where I wanted to be. Never had I been more interested in or more moved by a class. The next semester I declared my major in women’s studies and have not looked back since.
What does one do with a women’s studies degree, you may ask? That’s a good question. Ideally, I want to become a sexologist. The field of sexology (yes, that’s a real word) encompasses the realms of sex therapy, sex education, and sex research. I want to go into community-based sex education programs for teens and young adults as well as people with disabilities. I would also like to work with victims of interpersonal violence. I plan to undergo training to become a volunteer sexual assault victim advocate.
Outside of the academic world, I can often be found haunting Finder’s Records downtown, Grounds for Thought coffee shop or Hobby Lobby, walking around barefoot, or cheering on my two favorite sports teams: BGSU hockey and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
August 24, 2011
Hello everyone,
My name is Teddie Livingston from Steubenville, Oh. I am currently entering my third year at BGSU, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. Pushing for to fulfill my life dream of owning my own talk show.
I come from a small city and a small family but everyone is really close with one another. I am the middle child with an older sister and younger brother. During my free time I like to hang out with my friends and enjoy life. I am a very open minded person and ready to conquer my broadcast dream.
Over the summer I intern at a local new station called WTOV9 , where I learned so much and did hand on activities. It was an amazing opportunity that motivated me to join the news crew here at school and push forward even harder than what I ever did.
Over all I most say I’m pretty average but I also stand out in my own way.
August 24, 2011
My name is Sarah Bailey. I’m a junior and print journalism major, hoping to one day write for a magazine.
I’m originally from Loveland, OH, and this summer I interned at the Cincinnati Enquirer. During my internship, I was able to write a couple local news stories and some feature pieces for Our Town Magazine. It was a great experience and a good start to my career as a journalist.
While at BGSU, I have worked for the BG News and the Key Magazine on campus. I am involved in St. Thomas More University Parish, and have written for their newsletter last semester. I just got confirmed into the Catholic Church this past Easter, which was a great experience.
I’m also a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority, where I served as VP Communications at the end of my freshman year and beginning of my sophomore year, where I was able to write submissions to our national magazine.
When it comes to social media, I have experience with Facebook and Twitter. I have had a Facebook page since freshman year of high school. I use it to stay in touch with friends and family, and to share photos with my friends. I just recently joined the Twitter fad. I enjoy following multiple news sources, celebrities, and seeing the latest news trends.
August 23, 2011
Let’s analyze Citizens United v. FEC, an important case discussed in the first chapter of our text. You can find the opinion here. (Hint: when reading the case, don’t start with the “syllabus” – go to the “opinion.”)
Here are the key elements:
1. Facts of case
Citizens United, a conservative non-profit organization, made a film during the 2008 election questioning then-Sen. Hillary Clinton’s fitness to be president. Citizens United wanted to air the film on cable and advertise for it on TV. This was an apparent violation of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, known as the McCain–Feingold Act. A lower court ruled against Citizens United, saying the movie could not be shown prior to the election.
The McCain-Feingold Act prohibited corporations and unions from using general funds to make independent expenditures for speech defined as an “electioneering communication” or expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate. (Note: the law does not apply to PACs, or Political Action Committees, which can raise money for political ads, but they are bound by various restrictions. Scroll down to the end to learn more about new SuperPACs.)
2. Legal issue (what the court is trying to decide)
The court had to decide whether to continue to apply previous rulings (stare decisis) to the issue of corporate speech in elections. Specifically, would the court follow the precedent set in Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce , 494 U. S. 652 (1990), which had held that political speech may be banned based on the speaker’s corporate identity?
3. Decision (what the court ruled)
The court ruled 5-4 in favor of Citizens United and overruled Austin.
The court said:
Government may not suppress political speech on the basis of the speaker’s corporate identity. No sufficient governmental interest justifies limits on the political speech of nonprofit or for-profit corporations.
4. Analysis (why the court ruled this way)
The court felt that the law was an unacceptable ban on speech. It pointed out that political speech has the highest level of protection under the First Amendment, and that there was no way to justify classifying corporate speech as being different than an individual’s speech.
According to the opinion:
Speech is an essential mechanism of democracy, for it is the means to hold officials accountable to the people. … The right of citizens to inquire, to hear, to speak, and to use information to reach consensus is a precondition to enlightened self-government and a necessary means to protect it. The First Amendment “ ‘has its fullest and most urgent application’ to speech uttered during a campaign for political office.”
The court pointed out that the law represented an “outright ban” on political communication. The court gave several examples of speech that would be a felony under the law, which it deemed a form of censorship:
The Sierra Club runs an ad, within the crucial phase of 60 days before the general election, that exhorts the public to disapprove of a Congressman who favors logging in national forests; the National Rifle Association publishes a book urging the public to vote for the challenger because the incumbent U. S. Senator supports a handgun ban; and the American Civil Liberties Union creates a Web site telling the public to vote for a Presidential candidate in light of that candidate’s defense of free speech. These prohibitions are classic examples of censorship.
However, in a dissenting opinion, Justice Stevens disagreed with the ruling and said that corporations were never meant to be equivalent to people as far as free speech rights. Besides, he said, Citizens United could have aired the movie whenever it wanted, except the 30 days prior to the election, without violating the law.
5. Questions for classmates
August 22, 2011
Have you heard about the new Missouri law that bans teachers from contacting students via Facebook or other social media sites?
According to a Fox News story from Aug. 2:
A controversial new law in Missouri designed to protect students from sexual misconduct bans direct contact between educators and students on social networking websites, but has prompted criticism from those who say it goes too far in its effort to clearly define digital boundaries.
Senate Bill 54, also known as the “Amy Hestir Student Protection Act,” was signed into law on July 14 by Gov. Jay Nixon.
Some teachers and students are fighting back, saying the law, while well-intentioned, goes too far in restricting what can be a legitimate means of communication. A Missouri teacher association filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the social media portion of the law. Click here to see the actual lawsuit.
What do you think?
UPDATE on Aug. 28: On Friday, a judge blocked part of this law due to free speech concerns, and the governor says he’s going to repeal other parts of it. Read all about it here.
