SPRING 2013
Adviser Update
Do the
right thing
Continued from page 2A
educating yet another
generation about student
press law.
“His ‘big picture’ view of
student journalism, along
with his all-encompassing
experience — teacher,
adviser, journalist, professor
and state-association board
member — makes him
invaluable as an advisory
board member for the Pa.
School Press Association,”
Hankes added.
For a short time, Eveslage
served with JEA to help
initiate a national journalism
certification program and
was the first Pennsylvanian
to receive the JEA Master
Journalism Educator
certification.
Additionally, Eveslage
worked closely with the
JEASPRC to help students
and their advisers understand
and prepare for the impact of
Hazelwood post 1988.
“Tom has been a leader
in press freedom for many
years,” said John Bowen,
chair of the JEASPRC. “He
has written extensively not
only on the legal issues
scholastic journalists and
their advisers face but also
on expanding the teaching of
ethics as an essential core
of journalism education. His
thoughts and written work
are part of JEA’s Scholastic
Press Rights Commission’s
work on free and responsible
journalism and its emphasis
on ensuring ethical thinking.
“Tom has been a vocal
leader for developing an
ethical basis for coverage
in scholastic media and
has served the Journalism
Education Association as
an active member of the
Certification and Scholastic
Page 3A
CELEBRATION — Guest of
honor Dr. Tom Eveslage speaks
at a well-attended retirement
party at the Temple University
Shusterman Hall last December.
The celebration honored Dr.
Eveslage’s 50 years in journalism
and his role as a national leader
and advocate for freedom of
the press and scholastic press
rights. Dr. Eveslage emphasized
the importance of ethical thinking for journalism teachers and
students. He said, “Advisers and
students should not just keep
doing what they do. They need to
think about what is the right thing
to do and then do the right thing.”
Update photo courtesy of
Temple University
Press Rights Commissions.
“Early in my advising career,
Tom really modeled leadership
for me in the legal and ethical
areas, and, whether he
knows it or not, acted as a
working mentor and guide,”
Bowen added. “I learned the
intricacies of legal and ethical
issues from him in the early
years following the Hazelwood
decision, as we served on the
SPLC Board of Directors.”
As he begins retirement,
Eveslage will still impact scholastic journalism as he continues to work on the SPLC
board. He hopes to travel and
write about his insight on the
past 50 years of journalism,
including college censorship.
He said he also wants to write
some poetry and short verse
“for fun.”
Jane Blystone, Ph. D.
is the director of graduate studies in
secondary education at Mercyhurst
University in Erie, Pa. She is also
the JEA Region 7 director. She can
be reached at jane.blystone@gmail.
com