Opinion ID: 1426237
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The School

Text: The school newspaper at issue was produced by students at the College of Staten Island (CSI or the College), which is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Under state law, the CUNY Board of Trustees (the CUNY Board) may impose mandatory student activity fees to support student activities and regulate the expenditure of those funds. At all times relevant to this lawsuit, CSI students, as a condition for registering for classes, were required to pay mandatory student activity fees in an amount set by the CUNY Board. At CSI, a portion of the student activity fees is earmarked for a general fund to be allocated by the CSI student government to several extracurricular activities, including student publications. The CUNY Board of Trustees Bylaws (CUNY Bylaws) mandate that CSI establish a Student Elections Review Committee (SERC), which, among other responsibilities, approves election procedures and certifies election results. CUNY By-law § 15.2[d]. During a student government election, the SERC meets when needed to consider alleged violations of election rules and other complaints regarding the election process. The student government nominates individuals, who may be students, faculty, or administrative staff, to serve on the SERC. From those nominees, the CSI president appoints the members of the SERC. The intent of Bylaw § 15.2[d] is to limit the role of college presidents to receiving appeals from the Student Elections Review Committee where an individual student has received a negative determination on a request. On appeal, the CSI president may uphold, reverse, or modify the SERC's determination. Each spring, CSI holds annual elections for the Student Senate, as well as for other student government positions. Once elected, the CSI Student Senate in turn names a president and eight commissioners from among its members. One of the commissioners chairs a Committee on Publications that is responsible for regulating student media outlets. In the 1996-1997 academic year, the allocation of student activity fees to student publications was made by the Student Senate based on the recommendation of the Committee on Publications.