Colorado State Controversy

Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Sep 24, 2007

I taught at Colorado State University for four years, and I've got to say that when it comes to politics, it's a quiet campus. Not exactly Berkeley. A bit apathetic, actually. So I was quite surprised to witness the local controversy surrounding CSU's campus newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian. On Friday, September 21, the Collegian printed a four word editorial in very large print. It read:

"Taser this! F-- Bush! This is the view of the Collegian editorial board."

Why? Well, it was kind of a commentary on the recent tasering of a student at a John Kerry forum at the University of Florida. A student "got out of hand" when expressing his opinions, and the police tasered him--and his fellow students sat back and watched. So "Taser This!" is all about students not being afraid of speaking their mind.

The consequences of these actions haven't been determined. The newspaper has lost an undisclosed amount of advertising revenue. Editor David McSwane may lose his job. Free speech or not, CSU's Board of Student Communications has the authority to fire him.

If McSwane is fired, I'll be disgusted, and so should the entire CSU community. Bravo to the editorial board for stating their opinion, and in effect, loudly defending the principle of free speech. I know that not everyone agrees with the controversial opinion they stated in the paper-- but that's not the point. We all benefit from the freedom of speech in newspapers and on college campuses in general, and the cost of silencing student journalists who speak their mind is great.

And hooray for CSU students for not being apathetic! Check out this massive outpouring of reactions to the editorial on the Collegian website. It makes me proud to see students concerned with politics, regardless of their views.