July 29, 2008

MONTCLAIR - The Montclair State University (MSU) Montclarion became independent from the Student Government Association (SGA) of Montclair State University last Thursday night by vote of the MSU Board of Trustees, following the approval of the Board's Finance Committee. This move follows the ACLU-NJ's recent representation of the paper when the SGA infringed upon freedom of the press by halting the paper's funding in response to the paper's investigation of the SGA violating the Open Public Meetings Act.

"The right to a free press is now free to thrive at Montclair State University," said Gary Nissenbaum of the Nissenbaum Law Group, who along with his colleague, Neelam Singh, Esq., helped the paper become independent. "He who pays the piper does not call the tune, and now with The Montclarion independent, journalism will not be hindered."

The Montclarion will now receive funds through a separate student fee going solely toward the newspaper, meaning it will be supported by students directly, not by the university or SGA. Accordingly, the Nissenbaum Law Group is filing papers today with the Secretary of State of New Jersey to form a student-directed new entity that will own and run the Montclarion.

The battle began last year, when the SGA authorized The Montclarion to hire an attorney, who determined the SGA had violated the Open Public Meetings Act. In response, SGA President Ronald Chicken ordered the paper to turn in confidential correspondence between the newspaper and its lawyer. When the paper refused, Chicken froze the funding and even passed a measure saying The Montclarion had no First Amendment free press protections.

In January, the SGA agreed to release most of The Montclarion's funding and rescind its request for legal documents, but the SGA reneged on its promise to turn over the paper's funds. Then at a February SGA meeting, the funds were unfrozen and university President Susan Cole said if the newspaper became independent, the university would pay for The Montclarion to publish in the interim.

"After what it took for us to get here, the Montclarion staff truly appreciates what it means to operate an independent press free from outside control," said Bobby Melok, editor-in-chief of The Montclarion for the upcoming school year. "We feared for our funding, for our free press rights and for the future of The Montclarion. Now that our battle is over, we can focus on our bread and butter: news that matters to students - like open meetings."