Terms of Service

TommieMedia.com is a news organization for the University of St. Thomas community and surrounding communities. Please read the following terms of service carefully and follow the guidelines for using this website. If you do not wish to agree to these conditions, do not use this website.

All information posted will be as up to date as possible, but some posts may become inaccurate over time. TommieMedia can add, change, remove or suspend all content at any time without prior notice.

Changes to Terms of Service. TommieMedia reserves the right to change these Terms of Service. We will post changes here, so check back periodically. If you choose to continue to continue using TommieMedia.com, you agree to and must abide by such changes. If you disagree with changes, or become dissatisfied with TommieMedia, your only alternative is to stop using the website.

Fees and Charges. TommieMedia.com will charge no fees for the basic uses of the website. TommieMedia still reserves the right at any time to charge fees for access to portions of the website. You will not be charged unless we obtain your prior agreement to pay any given charges.

Content. All materials published on TommieMedia.com, including but not limited to articles, photographs, illustrations, graphics, audio and video clips, and advertising copy, are protected by copyright and owned by TommieMedia.

Use of Content. You may use TommieMedia content online and solely for your personal, non-commercial use, and you may download or print a copy of any portion of the content for your personal, non-commercial use, provided you do not remove any trademark, copyright, or other notice contained in or on such content.

Unless authorized, you may not reproduce, sell, or display any portion of TommieMedia content. Tampering with any TommieMedia software or manipulating posted content is prohibited.

Copyright. TommieMedia asks our users to respect the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your work has been used in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please promptly provide TommieMedia with this information.

    1.  An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
    2.  A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed upon;
    3.  A description of where the material in question is located on the TommieMedia website
    4.  Your address, telephone number and email address;
    5.  A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
    6.  A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are either the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

Submission of Content. Anything you submit to TommieMedia.com may be used again in any way, shape or form.

Linking Policy. If you link to TommieMedia.com, you must comply with the following guidelines. The link cannot damage the quality product TommieMedia.com strives to create. The link also may not give the viewer the assumption that your site is affiliated with TommieMedia.com. Linking to TommieMedia.com must follow the same protocol of the content of TommieMedia.com comments. No unlawful or inappropriate links may be posted.

Location. TommieMedia operates TommieMedia.com in the United States. If you access TommieMedia.com from other locations, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

Disclaimer; Limitations on Liability; Indemnity. TommieMedia and its divisions, advisers and members make no representation or warranty whatsoever regarding the completeness, accuracy, timeliness or adequacy of any information, facts, views, opinions, statements, or recommendations contained on TommieMedia.com. Reference to any product, process, publication or service of any third party by trade name, domain name, trademark, service mark, logo, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement or recommendation by TommieMedia.

Security Breaches. The Internet may be subject to breaches of security. TommieMedia.com is not responsible for any resulting damage to any user’s computer from any such security breach or any array of viruses or harmful malfunctions. You should also be aware that e-mail submissions over the Internet may not be secure.

No Liability for Damages. You agree that TommieMedia is not liable to you for damages of any kind, in connection with TommieMedia.com.

Use at your Own Risk. TommieMedia contains facts, opinions, views, statements, and recommendations of third-party individuals and organizations. The site does not represent or endorse the accuracy, timeliness or reliability of any facts, opinions, views, statements and/or recommendations or other information displayed, uploaded or distributed through TommieMedia.com. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such facts, opinions, views, statements, and/or recommendations is at your sole risk.

TommieMedia Comment Section Guidelines

At TommieMedia, we strive to provide a flourishing moderated online forum that supports community connection and discourse, and we find value in hosting responses via online comments related to our coverage. TommieMedia welcomes advice, criticism, questions and unique insights. With these goals in mind, we will adhere to the following guidelines when approving comments to be published to our site:

    1.  Real names are required in order to leave a comment. As a news organization, TommieMedia avoids keeping our sources anonymous, and the same transparency is extended to our comments section.
    2.  Comments of more than 250 words will not be published. Comments of this length can clog up the response section and make the discussion hard to follow for other readers. If you have a comment of this length, please feel free to email it directly to the author or submit it to the opinions editor as a letter to the editor.
    3.  Hate speech and discriminatory language based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, religion or culture will not be allowed. Name-calling, personal attacks (including those against our staff), profanity and SHOUTING are also not permitted. This includes attempts to curse with dashes, special characters (@!#) or spacing.
    4.  Comment sections are moderated by the executive staff at TommieMedia. Staff members will review comments for an article up to one week after it has been posted. After that, the comment section will be closed and moderators will move on to more recent coverage.
    5.  Promoting, selling or advertising through the comment section is not allowed.

We welcome feedback on this policy via email to any member of our executive staff. Thank you.

Sam Ellsworth, Executive Director – ells7415@stthomas.edu 
Natalie Hoepner, Assignment Editor – natalie.hoepner@stthomas.edu
Cam Kauffman, Managing Editor – cam.kauffman@stthomas.edu
Sam Larson, Sports Content Managing Editor – sam.larson@stthomas.edu

Policy drafted by Angeline Terry, Opinions Editor – terr2351@stthomas.edu

See also Prohibited Uses of TommieMedia section below.

Prohibited uses of TommieMedia.com. As a TommieMedia.com user, you agree not to use its content for any unlawful purposes. TommieMedia wants to create two-way communication between our readers and staff members. Therefore, comments on stories are encouraged. However, TommieMedia aims to create a respectful discussion; offensive statements will not be allowed. TommieMedia staff reserves the right to remove comments that are racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise inappropriate; that threaten or defame; or that aren’t relevant to the piece posted on. Posts containing viruses and destructive files are prohibited.

Terms last updated on November 14, 2023.