Adams' passing lost to students, First Amendment

Dr. David L. Adams
Photo used with permission from the Indiana Daily Student

By Scarlett Heydt
Voices Editor

This special edition First Amendment Issue is dedicated to David L. Adams, who passed away at the age of 59, on June 2. Adams was an advocate of student journalists and their rights.

"He was very passionate about students and their rights, and that was him," said North counselor Greg Chaffin, who was a former student and close friend of Adams. "He never stood back. He was very supportive of his students or any students really. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty."

Adams was born Oct. 30, 1947 in Kansas. He received his bachelor’s degree in English in 1969 from Kansas University. Later he earned his master’s in journalism from Kansas State University in 1984. In 1989, he moved to Bloomington and became the director of student media at Indiana University. He was the adviser of all student publications at IU.

While Adams was the adviser of the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), the Society of Professional Journalists awarded the IDS the Overall Excellence for College Daily Newspapers Award in 1998, 2004 and 2005. In 2007, the College Media Advisers chose the Arbutus for the Best Large Yearbook. The publications also won several Gold Crowns from Columbia University.

"Even though he advised his students at the IDS, he never made the decision for them," Chaffin said. "He just taught them to be responsible journalists."

Not only was Adams actively involved with journalism, he also belonged to Unity Church. He was a board member of Bloomington’s Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). He was also a member of the Bloomington Rotary Club for 18 years. Adams is survived by his partner, Chumning Chou, his son, John D. Adams, his brother Charles Adams and his stepmother, Betty Adams.

Testimonies to Dave

"Dave would be the first person to say his greatest accomplishment was when we covered his death. Dave brought me here from New Jersey. He saved me. My paper was suing our college for firing our adviser. He came to cover the story… He stood up for us and put his neck out there. He later e-mailed my personal account…He told me to come to IU, write for the paper, get good grades and he would help me get scholarships. He set students up with opportunities to succeed. We were Dave’s kids."

-Alberto Morales, senior IU journalism major

"What I admired about Dave was he never acted like he was on the clock. He made time for all of his students... A lot of advisers only care about the job, but Dave cared for the people on his staff as a whole. He would bail kids who had a little too much to drink out of jail. He would invite kids who didn’t have anywhere to go for the holidays to his home. Everyone knew that at anytime they could call Dave… And not only was he willing to help, but Dave was a student for life…and never felt shame in learning from his students."

-Rachel Knoble, IDS assistant director of operations

"In 2003, I was working at the IDS and mostly I covered what the police did. At the time, I was house-sitting for Dave, who was at a conference for a weekend. I was also without a car. Well, at some point I was listening to the police scanner, and it said there was a high speed pursuit going on and that it was heading toward Bloomington…I started to ‘spaz’ out because I needed to be in that chase. Suddenly, Dave shows up, and I just started babbling about the chase. So he said ‘Let’s go.’ He handed me the keys to his four-door, white Toyota…I’m weaving in-and-out of traffic, passing people on the right side of the road, doing 70 MPH in his car. We were there a moment before the police."

-Brandon Morley, IU journalism graduate student

“Dave believed that the ultimate say of the publications should be in the hands of the students…I came to appreciate how strong and enthusiastic he was and not just within the IU community. He was on the forefront of all issues related to student journalism. Anytime there was controversy, he was there. Dave believed that journalism was a public service and in order to do a good job, you have to have freedom.”

-Ruth Witmer, IDS editorial adviser