In recent news, Southwestern College’s award-winning student newspaper, The Sun, had their first issue of the paper put on hold. The publishing lockdown was attributed to the paper’s lack of compliance with an uncovered campus policy that requires the paper to solicit bids to publishing firms before selecting one.
Writers and editors of the paper argued that the decision was not as simple as it seemed. Able to continue publishing online during the lockdown, The Sun reported that the school is on the cusp of a controversial governing board election, and that the election was addressed in the issue.
The Chronicle of Education reported that The Sun’s most recent issue contained stories that were critical of the college’s president and board.
The Sun’s website had also reported that they received e-mails threatening ‘ramifications’ should the paper be printed, and that the editor was also asked verbally not to print the upcoming issue.
The paper was not to be allowed to publish until November 2nd, after the election. However, after finding a private contributor to fund production, The Sun was able to release their first issue.
Although the actions by the college seem incredibly suspicious, it is my belief that if The Sun is ultimately responsible for the mistake that they made, even if it had not been previously enforced.
Their mistake, in this case, is obvious. They didn’t follow the rules, and when they got caught, they made excuses. It may be unfortunate, or unfair, but if the policy is there, it can be enforced. Perhaps the policy had not been enforced in decades; and perhaps there had been plans to remove the policy, but the fact of the matter is, it was not removed, and it was enforced.
It is my hope that this event will motivate the paper’s administration to take the steps needed to revoke the law, or to do what needs to be done in order to comply with all the school’s regulations. And that school newspapers around the nation will learn from the mistakes of The Sun and the Southwestern College administration. Albeit these mistakes are unfortunate, and they may be controversial, but neither of these things can change what has been done.
The Sun, and those supporting them, need to face the facts: they gave their opponent ammo, and their opponent shot them in the face. Bureaucracy strikes again.
Contact Christian Magdaleno at [email protected]