Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication centennial celebration begins

The Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University will begin celebrating its centennial during First Amendment Week activities April 10-15 capped by a student awards presentation on April 16 with internationally known journalists featured as keynote speakers.

The Greenlee School is the longest continuously accredited journalism school in the nation along with other select programs. Iowa State's journalism program was among the first programs accredited by the Accrediting Council of Education on Journalism and Mass Communication in 1948.

The weeklong activities of First Amendment Days sets aside one day for each of the five freedoms in the U.S. Constitution - speech, petition, press, assembly and religion. The celebration will conclude with a student awards ceremony from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, in the Scheman Building. That event's keynote speakers are Iowa State journalism alumni Hugh Sidey, former White House correspondent for Time magazine and Karol DeWulf Nickell, editor of Better Homes and Gardens. David B. Stoeffler, vice president of news at Lee Enterprises, will also be a featured speaker.

First Amendment Days is co-sponsored by Lee Enterprises, Inc., who recently contributed $80,000 for the celebration, to be paid over several years, ensuring that the event will continue.

The schedule for First Amendment Days includes:

*Sunday, April 10, Ames Public Library, 2 p.m. - "First Amendment / One Community / Many Voices: The First Amendment Alive in Ames" will feature a panel of Ames residents sharing personal stories of practicing their First Amendment rights in everyday life. High school students will discuss efforts to oppose a plan barring students from leaving school grounds for lunch while an Ames resident will talk about leading the City Council to oppose part sof the USA PATRIOT act. Other voices include Iowa State students who petitioned for a special election to consider reducing City Council terms and a cartoonist who exercises his rights every day the local newspaper.

* Monday, April 11, Central Campus, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - The ISU community will have an opportunity to debate issues of the day on soap boxes during First Amendment freedom of speech day. Exhibits and "You Be the Judge" contest will also be held.

* Monday, April 11, Memorial Union, 7 p .m. - Gene Policinski, executive director of the First Amendment Center; Judith Krug, director of the American Library Asosciation's Office of Intellectual Freedom; and Michael Kent Curtis, law professor at Wake Forest University, will discuss how the First Amendment has been the foundation of our nation's freedom, and how that freedom is endangered by today's lack of education about this founding principle of our democracy.

* Tuesday, April 12, Memorial Union, 7 p.m. - "Petition - the Forgotten Freedom?" will explore three instances in Iowa where citizens have used the freedom of petition to successful petition for a redress of grievances in the past year. The discussion will include a case in Cass County where seven citizens stood up to the county sheriff and attorney who created a slush fund out of money received from fixing speeding tickets; two private individuals who challenged the ISU Foundation to open that organization's records to the public; and ISU students who petitioned the City of Ames for a special election to lower the terms of City Council members.

* Wednesday, April 13, Memorial Union, 7 p.m. - "Freedom of Expression in an Age of Fear" looks at the case of three high school students who were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and Mary Beth and John Tinker will be on campus to discuss the significance of their case.

* Thursday, April 14, Central Campus, noon - An attempt will be made to establish a new "Guinness Book of World Records" for the most people reading simultaneously. A minimum of 1,111 people will read John F. Kennedy's inaugural address during the freedom of assembly day.

* Thursday, April 14, Memorial Union, 7 p.m. - Dan Barker, public relations director of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and author of "Just Pretend: A Freethought Book for Children," will speak on "Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist."

* Friday, April 15, Central Campus, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Debates on religious tolerance, the Ten Commandments in courthouses, gay marriages and other current religious topics will be waged on soapboxes on Central Campus. Exhibits from religious groups will also be on display.

Other Greenlee centennial-related events include a celebration of the graduate program and research at the Greenlee School, to be held in August, and an expanded homecoming celebration in October 2005.