ollege students in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin may lose the right to freedom of press next month.

The future of college newspapers in the three states rests on the outcome of the court case Hosty v. Carter.

Oral arguments for the case have been rescheduled for Jan. 7. They previously were scheduled for Tuesday.

“[The case] has gotten a lot of publicity nationally, and I think that’s a good thing,” said Jim Killam, president of the Illinois College Press Association and adviser for the Northern Star.

The case is the result of an incident at Governors State University (Ill.) two years ago. GSU Dean Patricia Carter halted the printing of GSU’s newspaper, the Innovator. She called the Innovator’s printer and told him not to print any issues of the paper until an administrator had approved them.

Some of the stories and editorials printed in the Innovator had criticized the GSU administration.

Killam said the Innovator had some ethical problems, but Carter’s actions were illegal because GSU is a public university.

In 2001, student journalists Margaret Hosty, Jeni Porche and Steven Barba sued the GSU administration. They said Carter violated their First Amendment right to freedom of press.

The case now has gone to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. If the court rules in favor of the GSU administration, college students in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin will lose their freedom of press.

“It goes beyond newspapers,” Killam said.

The ruling could affect any kind of free expression on college campuses, Killam said. He hopes the court rules in favor of the students.

“[The students] don’t have any legal representation, but they have someone who’s going to argue for their case,” Killam said.

Killam said Attorney Richard Goehler filed a brief and will argue on the students’ behalf. Goehler previously filed a brief on a similar college censorship case, Kincaid v. Gibson. The court ruled in favor of college press freedom in that case.

“I’m a lot more optimistic than we were a few months ago, now that this lawyer’s gotten involved,” Killam said.

The outcome of the case probably will not affect NIU, Killam said. He said NIU President John Peters doesn’t plan to censor the Northern Star. However, Killam said the ruling could have a great affect on other schools in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Jackie Feldmann, a freshman graphic design major, said it’s unfair that the case will affect other schools.

Mark Ahumada, a freshman electrical engineering major, said the court should rule in favor of the students.

Killam said if the court does not rule in favor of the students, they likely will appeal. Killam estimated it will take six months for the court to reach a decision once arguments begin in January.