CSU is getting a lot of press this week. The editor of the student newspaper wrote and printed an editorial that consisted of only four words:
Taser this…F*ck Bush
The profanity was, of course, spelled out.
From the Rocky Mountain News:
J. David McSwane, editor-in- chief of the Rocky Mountain Collegian at Colorado State University, could be suspended or fired if CSU’s Board of Student Communications determines the editorial violated student media policies.
[...]
The editorial sparked almost immediate controversy. Complaints rolled in, local businesses pulled ads, and CSU President Larry Penley issued a statement saying he was disappointed with the decision to run it.
McSwane said most of the criticism had come from nonstudents and called critics a “vocal minority.”
McSwane said he also has heard from students and alumni who support the editorial.
The Collegian, which is published Monday through Friday while classes are in session, is a self-funded, student-run publication. It does not receive money from student fees, and under state law, university officials are prohibited from censoring or regulating its content.
It has an adviser, but student media policies say advisers do not review or approve content before it is published.
The publisher of the Collegianand other student-run media, and the entity responsible for overseeing them, is the Board of Student Communications, made up of three faculty members and six students. It also includes the leaders of each student media publication, including McSwane, as nonvoting members.
Among the board’s policies is a specific reference to profane and vulgar words. It states that such words should “not be used in news accounts or letters to the editor unless they are considered by the editor-in-chief to be essential to readers’ understanding of the situation.”
“Profane and vulgar words are not acceptable for opinion writing,” the policy also states.
McSwane said he has no plans to resign.
“That would be an insult to my staff, who have supported me,” he said.
The newspaper’s seven-member editorial board agreed on the editorial before it was published. Though it wasn’t a unanimous vote in favor, it “wasn’t close,” McSwane said.
Last night on the news I saw snippets of the “hearing” and there were some good points made, and some really stupid points made. The majority of those against the editorial – and those who think McSwane should step down as editor – claimed the content was “inappropriate” and cost the paper valuable advertising revenue. One student backed up the freedom of speech angle but proclaimed, “Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.” A valid point, certainly.
My favorite argument in favor of McSwane was the student who said, “This lesson is teaching us that if we speak our mind we will be punished.”
And it is for that reason that I support McSwane and do not think he should be punished for expressing his views.
