First Amendment rights conference at Davenport Central

Davenport Central High School held a conference for journalism students around the Quad Cities concerning first amendment rights Feb. 21.

Among the professionals speaking were the city editor of the Quad City Times, the executive director of Quill and Scroll, an assistant public defender and the director of international scholastic journalism.

"Without the first amendment rights, I could not do what I do," said John Humenick, city editor of the Quad City Times. "Without the first amendment, the QC Times would have no current news and the paper would have blankly said 'Bush Wins'."

One topic presented by students was the fact that the Times published an article about an alleged rape at North High School and then publishing an article saying the rape report was untrue.

Another heavily debated topic was the responsibility the goes along with the first amendment, including a thorough discussion about libel and the internet.

The public defender told attendees to look at the issue from an individual perspective and be sensitive to others' views.