The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court voted Nov. 30 to reconsider a censorship case that sparked much controversy on the Kentucky State campus.

A three-judge panel ruled on Sept. 8 in Kincaid vs. Gibson that KSU officials had not violated the First Amendment when they confiscated KSU student yearbooks and gave the student publication’s adviser a different job after she reportedly did not censor material criticizing the university in the student newspaper.

Last week’s decision means a 13-judge panel will reconsider the case. Oral arguments have not yet been set.

The September ruling attracted a multitude of media attention, including that of the Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit organization that protects student media.

Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, said he was very pleased about the recent decision.

“It’s a very positive turn of events here — what it means is the Court of Appeals is going to start over,” he said, adding that because of “how bad their previous decision was, that can only mean something [positive].”

Goodman said he was somewhat surprised about the decision to reconsider, even though he was optimistic because the original ruling was the opposite of similar cases that have been heard across the country.

He also said the Student Press Law Center has heard quite a bit of feedback from campus newspapers.

“I think people were very concerned about this case, the potential impact it would have on not only student media, but student-sponsored expression,” he said.

Goodman said he’s hopeful about the new case.

“I’m crossing my fingers,” he said. He believes it might be a different decision because “a majority of the active judges suggested that they weren’t happy.”

Hinfred McDuffy, vice president for University Advancement at KSU, said a public relations office was working on information to release to the public about the decision, and a statement should be released in the near future. He declined further comment.

As for the students of KSU, Goodman said the Student Press Law Center has had virtually no contact with them.

“What happened because of this censorship, after the students graduated, after the former adviser left, I don’t think there’s much life there anymore,” he said. “It clearly still has a student newspaper, and they may still have a student yearbook, I don’t know, but we don’t seem to hear from them much.”