Cases of printed handbooks sit unopened in the Beau Press printshop near Campus Center.

Where can students get information on University of Hawai`i at Manoa departments, programs, activities and policies, as well as useful tidbits for navigating around town?

Not from the UH-Manoa Student Handbook.

For the second year in a row, the handbook will not be distributed. However, the handbook was printed--a large pallet of handbooks sits on campus in the Beau Press print shop.

James Reis, coordinator for student publications, said the Board of Publications decided to suspend distribution of the handbook, citing numerous grammatical, spelling, and factual errors. The BOP is the student, faculty, and staff body that oversees student publications such as Ka Leo O Hawai`i, Hawai`i Review, as well as the handbook.

"The board felt that it was not the best quality possible," he said. "It wasn't the content--not what the handbook said--but errors in spelling and grammar."

The decision to suspend distribution of the handbook was made at a special meeting the BOP held recently. Reis said the minutes of that meeting were not yet available.

The handbook editor was Joshua Cooper, a doctoral student in political science. Cooper was in Japan at press time and could not be reached for comment.

"The board will have some questions for him," Reis said.

Jan Javinar, director of Co-curricular Activities, Programs, and Services, supported the BOP's decision to suspend distribution of the handbook. CAPS is the UH department that oversees organizations like BOP.

"From my standpoint as an educator, it should not be distributed because it contains too many errors--everything from misspelled words to mistranslations to incorrect information," he said. "I think one in particular has to do with the Center for Hawaiian Studies--the content speaks to as though the Hawaiian Studies Center has not yet been constructed. "

Javinar also said as an educator, he expects student work to meet certain basic standards.

"Would you turn in a paper that is factually incorrect and has errors? That has misspellings?" he said. "What kind of a grade would you expect if you turned such a paper in? The issue for me is quality."

Barron Iwamura

Barron Iwamura, BOP chair, said "it was obvious that he did not run the spell checker."

Is pulling the handbook a violation of the First Amendment?

Javinar said although the handbook is paid for with student fees and overseen by a student editor, suspending distribution does not constitute a violation of press freedoms.

"What case law do you know of that exists that talks about college handbooks?" he said. "What kinds of freedoms have been guaranteed to college student handbooks under the case law that you know of?"

However, Michael Hiestand, a staff attorney with the Student Press Law Center in Virginia, stated it would depend on whether the handbook is viewed as a vehicle for student expression.

"The question here seems to be whether the student handbook is more like a student newspaper or yearbook (i.e. established as a forum for student expression), which are entitled to significant First Amendment protections--or an official publication of the school itself, more like a university newsletter for employees or a course catalog, which would have very limited protection," he stated.

Hiestand stated since the handbook is funded by student fees and is edited by a student, it would tend to fall in the same category as student newspapers and yearbooks.

"Nevertheless, a student handbook--at least the ones I'm familiar with--is not usually what one would consider a forum for student expression," he stated.

"Rather, they are usually places for publishing school rules, student rights, a list of school holidays, maps of the campus, etc... Are student editors given free reign in determining the content of these publications or are they simply given a list of things to type into a computer and print out by university officials?"

According to the official BOP website, "The Student Handbook provides students with up-to-date information on academic departments, facilities, services, and activities offered on or near the campus ... all content and artistic expression of the Student Handbook are the responsibility of the editor."

Iwamura said the purpose of the handbook is to disseminate information to students. However, he said he could not say whether the handbook is a vehicle for student expression or not.

"That is part of what we are going to be looking into," he said. "I can't answer that question at this time because it was not formally reviewed yet by the board."

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