After Penn State beat Ohio State in the October 25 football match, a large riot broke out. The Daily Collegian, the Penn State student newspaper, sent out a phtographer to capture the scene and photograph it. The photographer, Michael Felleter, is now asked to appear in court to face misdemeanor charges.
Felleter was taking photographs, and when he was asked to leave he identified himself as a member of the press and was allowed to stay. The events that followed are still being discussed, however it is sure that an additional polic officer asked him to leave. Felleter says he left at that point, yet police officers say that that he was asked again, refused and then charged with a misdemeanor. The case has yet to be completed.
The editor-in-chief of the Daily Collegian believes that the polcie officers became angry because as Felleter walked away, he kept on taking pictures. Though taking photographs after the police officers were already angry may not have been the smartest thing to do as far as Felleter's record goes, it was his right and it should not have caused him to be charged with a misdemeanor. Photographers have a righ to capture the news, and photographers are the ones that put images of events into people's minds. A picture is worth a thousand words, and Felleter was trying to capture a student riot in a few pictures. It is important to mention that the first officer let Felleter stay because he was part of the press. The fact that the law force is recognizing the improtance of the press is an important step toward a first amendment fulfillment.
Tamar Shachaf
About You Editor
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