<p>"HARRISONBURG, Va. Two university journalists face trespassing and disorderly conduct charges after entering a dorm to interview students.</p>
<p>The Virginia chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on Tuesday called on James Madison University to drop charges against 21-year-old Tim Chapman and 19-year-old Katie Hibson. It says officials acted “beyond reason.”</p>
<p>Hibson is a reporter for The Breeze, the twice-weekly campus newspaper, and Chapman is editor in chief.</p>
<p>The university’s Office of Judicial Affairs issued the charges after a resident adviser and the dorm director told students to leave as they interviewed residents about a “Peeping Tom” incident.</p>
<p>University spokesman Don Egle says the students were free to interview people outside. He says access to dorms is restricted for safety."</p>
<p>I live in Harrisonburg. My understanding of the incident is that two reporters entered a dorm and went knocking on doors for interviews about recent peeping tom incidents (one girl, for example, woke up to find a person STANDING OVER HER, not just glaring through the window). The RA, on edge, reacted in this manner.</p>
<p>Wow. As the facts are presented, this seems outrageous. And having a frosh neice there looking to go into journalism, I’m really interested to see how this plays out.</p>
<p>"The James Madison University Judicial Affairs Office has brought charges against student journalists for allegedly committing policy violations while reporting.</p>
<p>Journalists working for The Breeze, JMU’s student newspaper, declined to comment on the issue per their attorney’s advice, said JMU Media Arts and Design Prof. Roger Soenksen, legal adviser to The Breeze.</p>
<p>Breeze Editor-in-Chief Tim Chapman and contributing news writer Katie Hibson were brought up on charges of disorderly conduct, trespassing and non-compliance with an official request, according to a Breeze report that Soenksen confirmed. Hibson had entered Hillside Hall Oct. 18 to report on a “Peeping Tom” incident that had occurred the day before, Soenksen said. She was invited into the building by a resident who remained within 15 feet of Hibson as she conducted interviews. Hibson exited the building when a resident adviser asked her to leave and returned later with Chapman, accompanied by a resident. The resident adviser and hall director asked them to leave and then called the police, the article reported."</p>
<p>Not the first time the Breeze has run afoul of JMU administration. A few years back they published a second, more satirical insert to the Breeze, Turf. Administration attempted to shut that down but ultimately the students prevailed. Of course there are two sides to every story but I can’t wait to hear the administration version of this one. Of course student safety and privacy are important issues, but if the facts are as they are represented, it sounded like the reporters were adhering to the written policy. If residents complained, that may be an additional factor that we don’t know about yet. </p>
<p>There have been a number of incidents in the Harrisonburg area of “peeping toms”, many of them off campus. Remind your student of the importance of locking their doors and windows.</p>