Posted on 09/22/2007 12:14:29 PM PDT by Roberts
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A four word editorial with a four letter word in it is sparking a spirited discussion on free speech at Colorado State University.
The Rocky Mountain Collegian published an editorial on page 4 of the paper Friday which read "Taser this ... F*** Bush."
The expletive was spelled out.
The last two words were in bold type, larger than most headlines. A caption below said, "this column represents the views of the Collegian's Editorial Board."
"I think they went over the line a little bit, but it's free speech and they're allowed to write what they want," one student told 7NEWS.
The editorial comes fresh on the heels of freedom of speech issues that arose from the Tasering of a Florida student at a Sen. John Kerry speech.
Collegian Editor David McSwane said a group of seven student editors discussed the statement for several hours before agreeing to publish it.
"We felt it illustrated our point about freedom of speech," McSwane told 7NEWS. "I think we could write 250 words and ramble on and I don't think anyone would pay attention."
In a letter to the University Community and Collegian readers, McSwane wrote, "While the editorial board feels strongly with regard to First Amendment issues, we have found the unintended consequences of such a bold statement to be extremely disheartening."
McSwane told 7NEWS that ads from the CSU Bookstore were pulled from the paper in response to the editorial. Bookstore managers declined to comment.
CSU released a statement Friday that said in part, "While we understand that the editorial in today's Rocky Mountain Collegian is upsetting and offensive to many people, CSU is prohibited by law from censoring or regulating the content of its student media publications."
The Board of Student Communications has the authority to hear any and all grievances and complaints related to student media operations. The BSC can also remove student managers, like McSwane, if it deems necessary.
A special meeting of the BSC is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. to hear comments regarding the editorial.
McSwane said he knows his job is on the line.
"I plan to be honest," he said. "Our intentions weren't 'Hey, let's upset the community.' It was, 'Let's get college students to talk about freedom of speech.'"
“Taser this ... F*** Bush.”
Morons. Last I checked, it wasn’t Bush who was tasering folks.
Extreme BDS; this is beyond funny. It demonstrates the idiocy of the collegian editorial board, the lack of respect for freedom of speech considering this tasered character was disrupting everyone elses right to hear/speak, and the complete lack of education these kids are getting at this university.
They are a joke and the university should be embarrassed that this is what their best and brightest have to offer.
It is simple:
Liberal profanity directed towards a conservative = Free Speech and should be celebrated
Any criticism of liberals = Hate speech and should be condemned and censored
Bush is always to blame. No issue of the campus paper at my university would be complete without a hate diatribe aimed at Bush. He invaded Iraq to steal their oil. He’s planning to invade Iran to steal their oil. He’s planning to cart people off to prison for pointing out that he’s stealing oil. When letters to the editor express disagreement, a response is written accusing the writer of being a brainwashed lackey of the Bush oil stealing plot. If someone suggests that maybe the paper should have a single conservative columnist to provide balance, they’re accused of opposing free speech.
For the record, my campus isn’t all that liberal. We have a mock election every four years and the Republican always wins it. But as on most campuses the left controls the school paper, controls the bulletin boards, and otherwise dominates discourse. We had an anti-war march today. Not that many people attended, and most of them were old hippies, not current students. A group of veterans on motorcycles rode around with American flags as a counter-protest. I’m sure the next issue of the paper will either ignore them or accuse them of trying to intimidate the peaceniks or deprive them of their free speech rights.
And it isn’t just college students. The moron Paul Craig Roberts has already written a column blaming the gestapo atmosphere created by Bush for the taser incident. He indicates that Kerry did nothing to stop it because he fears Bush, adding that we may soon see U.S. Senators tasered and dragged off by cops. I kid you not.
Makes as much sense as a lot of other things today... I guess.
I think it illustrates that the the left-leaning editorial board is obviously incapable of writing a concise, objective, informative article presenting their opinions in an intelligent manner. The elitists just proved their own ignorance.
Kerry: "Answers? You want answers? Here's your answer!"
(Taser Sounds and Sparks)
Student: "owwwww, sir may I have another!"
Not bad for a supposed idiot.
LOL... Yeah right, it was all about free speech, it could just as easily been "F*** Teddy Kennedy or F*** Hillary Clinton, but in a happy coincidence it was F*** Bush."
In the words of Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall in As Good as It Gets "Go sell crazy somewhere else."
I wonder how this “editorial” would be defended: “F*** Mrs. McSwane?”
The CSU editors demonstrate with their recent 4 word “editorial” what is painfully obvious: the modern Left has sunk beneath debate.
Unable to articulate persuasive arguments, the Left can merely rant (and does even that poorly).
Swine. All of them.
If I was close to the guy, I'd be encouraging him to have a brain scan. What, other than a tumor, could explain it?
I like this part: “Collegian Editor David McSwane said a group of seven student editors discussed the statement for several hours before agreeing to publish it.”
Why did they chose ellipses? That may have been a main sticking point...
I personally think it would be a good thing if all liberals were tasered. Cheap electro shock therapy.
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