2008 Woodie Awards
School newspaper censored?
Jeffrey Sawyer
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Headlines
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Approximately four hours after arriving at the Werner Center Saturday morning to open the building, student building manager Justin Briley (who also serves as the webmaster for the Western Oregon Journal), noticed that the receptacles where the Journal is normally distributed from were naked. After closer examination the papers were found hidden underneath other items on the receptacle's table top and stuffed into cubbies that are originally intended for paper recycling. Only downstairs, in front of the Student Media offices were the papers left undisturbed.
Briley promptly text messaged the Journal Editor in Chief, Gerry Blakney, to tell him of the hidden newspapers.
"I immediately ran to the school to see for myself. I knew that publishing a picture of Men's Rugby players zuluing on the cover may have been considered 'controversial' but nothing that would warrant stealing our papers," said Blakney.
Blakney quickly grabbed a stack of papers and started handing out the issue to prospective students and parents while they congregated in front of the Hamersly Library before their tours, much to the dismay of the admissions staff.
"I was only able to pass out three copies before David McDonald pulled me aside to talk. I asked him, in no uncertain terms, to leave the papers alone; they must stay out and available for the students. McDonald promised that the papers would remain there for the remainder of the Preview Day," stated Blakney, "if I would stop handing them out to the students."
David McDonald, recently promoted to Associate Provost decided that the content of the Journal was too offensive for the prospective students and their families. According to McDonald the issues were hidden because there was a group of about 400 students to preview the campus and amongst the group were the student's younger siblings. He cited the column, 'Let's get off together' and the front page as his reasons for misplacing the Journal.
"Removing papers from a newsrack is the ultimate form of censorship and they should be ashamed of themselves," exclaimed Journal legal counsel, Mike Hiestand of the Student Press Law Center.
When asked if he was trying to censor the Journal, McDonald claimed that was the last thing he was trying to do. McDonald said that they had meant to remove the copies of the Journal from the recycling bin right after the Preview Day had concluded.
"What we did has no commentary on what we think of the Journal and we were not trying to censor it. I am a strong believer in free speech and believe that a student-run paper is a good thing for a university. Our concern was that we were having several younger kids showing up for this Preview Day and we did not want to offend them with a paper that is meant for college age students," stated McDonald.
The Western Faculty Union has also weighed in on the incident, after noticing the absence of the Journal while visiting with prospective students as well, claiming that "If true, such action by the Associate Provost constitutes a clear violation of the spirit and purpose of free speech. A public university is a forum where diverse peoples can expect to freely engage in expression and the exchange of perspectives, however controversial or unpalatable to individuals."
Dr. Mark Perlman, Chair of the Philosophy Department had this to say about the Journal, "I think the Western Journal has been much edgier and interesting this year than the last several years. I enjoy reading it, and look forward to what they're going to dive into next. The paper has actually been doing some investigative reporting - not just listing events, but telling some of the stories behind them. Of course, whenever you shine light on actions that aren't particularly admirable, the people who did those actions aren't going to like the publicity. As for the paper being hidden away during Preview Day, I am surprised that anyone would see the need to do that, and very disappointed that they would have the nerve to actually do it. Universities should be about free exchange of ideas, not about suppressing ideas."
WOU President Dr. Minahan said that it was wrong and improper to interfere with the distribution of the newspaper.
When asked about the possibility of paper confiscation in the future, Blakney said he believes that there is a possibility this could happen again, and that the administration is afraid of a real student newspaper. According to him, "All they care about is enrollment figures, percentages and dollar signs. They don't care for the rest of us who have already paid."
This is not the first time that the Journal has experienced issues of its publication being confiscated. After Benjamin Sappington won the 2004 Associated Students Spring Presidential election, hundred of copies of the Journal were found thrown out. Allegedly the theft occurred because of a comic called 'the Political Wolf' which portrayed the winning candidate crushing the losing candidates with a monster truck. Afterwards the Journal editorial board adopted the "first copy free, one dollar for each additional copy," policy that is supposed to protect the Journal from such incidents. Coincidentally the policy was suggested by Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Gary Dukes.
"Official confiscation of student newspapers happens on a regular, but infrequent basis," said Mark Goodman, the executive director of the Student Press Law Center, an advocate group for student free press rights. A few years ago, the University of Pennsylvania was accused of removing copies of its independent newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. The university responded by adopting a policy prohibiting the removal of student newspapers.
Goodman strongly encourages the Western administration to issue a similar policy. Across the country, most university officials do not confiscate copies of student papers because they realize "how horrible it makes their institutions look," he said.•
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