Thursday, October 18, 2007
A four-word editorial on Friday, Sept. 21 in the Colorado State University newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, has put the student-run newspaper under the nation’s spotlight. The editorial read, “Taser this: Fuck Bush.” Under the editorial it read, “This column represents the views of the Collegian’s editorial board.” The issue at hand is not that of the First Amendment, because as a student-run paper, it is the student editors who have a final say over content. The issue is how the board decided to address the rights that are allotted to students under the First Amendment.
The board, which consists of seven editors, is said to have wrestled back and forth over the idea of whether to run the editorial statement, which put the editor-in-chief, J. David McSwane, at risk of losing his job. The Collegian has received flak for the statement across the nation, as well as locally. The paper is said to have lost about $30,000 in advertising, which will result in a pay cut for all staff members.
The statement is in reference to the Tasering of a University of Florida student as he attempted to ask multiple questions during a tirade at a Sen. John Kerry speech. The editors claim that it was not a political statement, but about the rights of students on campuses. Regardless of their intentions, which were not stated in the ‘editorial,’ the headline did not come off as a statement about free speech. It was an irresponsible decision by the editors, which cost many students a loss in pay, and put the professionalism and ethics of the paper in question.
The University Daily Kansan has the right to run any newsworthy story or opinion by staffers, at the editors’ discretion. The Free For All, for example, contains expletives almost every day. However, if any story is run that does contain vulgar content, we at the Kansan, feel we have a purpose in our use of such words. While freedom of speech and the First Amendment are both highly valued, it is a matter of ethics and professional courtesy on how journalists attempt to test the limits.
If the Collegian is going for the ‘shock jock’ of college papers, it receives the Don Imus Award hands down. The board claims that it was not their intention to promote irresponsible journalism, although the coverage and media regarding the editorial may suggest otherwise. If the Collegian, or any other student-run newspaper, does choose to comment on the rights of students on campus, we hope they follow in line behind those student journalists who do exercise our rights in a respectable, non-vulgar or president-bashing way.
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