The president of a Florida college that serves more than ten thousand students says he does not believe that his own students should be entitled to report on things that happen at their own school. Why is this man in the field of education?

Ed Meadows, the president of Pensacola State College, a community college in "the panhandle" of Florida, which is Florida slang for "the part of the state you hope you do not live in," is currently spending his valuable time by trying to squelch journalism on his own campus, which is always the mark of a strong, wise leader. Inside Higher Ed reports that Meadows has told faculty members that it is against the law for them to speak to their own school's student paper about their ongoing labor dispute with the school. Interesting legal interpretation! Meadows has some rock solid reasoning:

Meadows said he is not sure why it is important for students to put information about the dispute into the paper in the first place. In his view, faculty pay and hours don't affect students.

The student paper, Meadows said, can write about other things, like student awards, basketball games, crime, opinions and "non-college things."

Truly a heartening commitment to the concept of "education!" The fact that people like Ed Meadows are allowed to lead colleges serving thousands of young people is just one of the problems with the state of Florida today.

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