Students Reflect on
By Stephanie Cannon
Mike Merriam
Mike Merriam has worn many hats
during his life. Attorney for the Kansas
Press Association, advocate for first
amendment rights and professor of Mass
Media Law at Washburn University.
He’s won many awards, including a
recent Lifetime Achievement Award by
the Sunshine Coalition for his work in
promoting open government. After many
years he’s taken off his professor hat,
and retired from teaching.
Merriam’s class taught students about
the first amendment, copyright law,
legal rights of journalists, slander and
defamation and more. He was known to
use Supreme Court cases to help teach
his points.
“I respected Merriam for his
knowledge of 1st Amendment and
media-related law. I also appreciated
that he had realistic expectations for
the students. He knew we weren’t law
students and he taught accordingly,” said
Ryan Ogle.
Brian Cervantez expressed similar
feelings about Merriam and his class.
“His class had an influence on me
because I knew some things about mass
media law, but not to the extent that
he explained it. I learned a lot that will
benefit me in my film and video career,”
said Cervantez.
Ogle felt that the case studies
were important and he also believes
Merriam’s influence will benefit students
even after they’re no longer in mass
media law.
“I took a lot from the history of First
Amendment law and the cases that
shaped it,” said Ogle. “ I also liked his
stories about cases he’s been involved
with. I thought that helped to give some
real-world perspective on things, which
made it easier to relate to the material.”
Cervantez believed that what made
Merriam a great teacher lay with his
accessibility and his interest in making
sure that his students understood the
subject matter.
“If you did not understand something
that he was saying in class you could
ask him right then and there. He would
explain more about it,” said Cervantez.
Both Ogle and Cervantez thanked
Merriam for his time and they didn’t
believe the course could be the same
after his departure.
“I’m not sure if anyone could
Courtesy of Kansas Press Association
Longtime media law adjunct Mike
Merriam retired from teaching fall 2014.
present the material in a way that was
both challenging and accessible at the
same time,” said Ogle, before laughing.
“And I would hope that whomever took
Merriam’s place lets class out early
when there’s a KU game on.”
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