College media outlets received a measure of protection last week as the threat of high school censorship guidelines was erased.

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati declared all college media, including yearbooks, free of censorship by administrators Jan. 6. The 10-3 ruling on Kincaid v. Gibson limits censorship rights only to high schools.

Kincaid v. Gibson started in 1994 when Betty Gibson, a former Kentucky State University vice president for student affairs, transferred the school newspaper’s adviser, Laura McCullen, according to the Student Press Law Center. Later that school year, Gibson confiscated about 2,000 copies of the 1993-94 yearbook, The Thorobred, citing a purple cover — not a school color — and too many photos and stories about current events.

Students paid for the yearbooks with $9,000 in student activity fees.

In 1995, two students filed a lawsuit in the district court, saying their First Amendment rights had been violated. In 1997, Judge Joseph M. Hood said KSU was justified in taking the yearbooks, citing the 1988 case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. In that case, Hazelwood introduced a series of standards for high school media censorship, including having advisers approve articles before printing, according to the court opinion. Hood said the restrictions should work for college and university media, as well.

The students sought to overturn the ruling, but a second three-judge panel upheld it. On Sept. 22, the students filed for a rehearing of the case. It was granted in November and the 13 judges on the circuit court reversed the decision completely.

If the case had gone the other way, the widespread outcome would have depended on individual college administrators, said Mark Goodman, Student Press Law Center director.

“It would have meant renewed effort by college administration to interfere, if not outright censor, college media,” Goodman said.

Richard Goehler, an SPLC attorney from Frost & Jacobs, agreed.

“I think there was some serious danger if it had not turned around,” Goehler said. “It’s very rare to have a case reverse like this. Sometimes they just get it wrong.”

Bruce Orwin, attorney for the students who brought the case, was happy with the ruling.

“I think that the lower court missed on the legal proceedings in the case,” he said. “I think they misinterpreted the law.”

Jill Vollman, a Cincinnati-based attorney for Frost & Jacobs, agreed, adding that the higher court panel knew exactly what it was doing in its decision.

Goodman said the appeals court sent the ruling back to the district court to determine further action on KSU’s part, specifically whether the yearbooks, still locked up, will be distributed. KSU could seek more legal action.

“The university could decide to ask the Supreme Court to hear the case,” Goodman said.

Goodman said the circuit court ruling calls college yearbooks and student newspapers “public forums.” Now, before a university or college can censor a publication, it must show it has a compelling governmental interest.

In a footnote of the written opinion, the court thought even greater protection should be given to student newspapers, Goodman noted.

“It’s pretty well settled that a college newspaper is subject to First Amendment protection,” Orwin said.