The Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement supporting the decision by Central New Mexico Community College to reinstate its student newspaper. The college removed copies of the paper from newsstands and suspended The CNM Chronicle following the publication of a sex issue.
SPJ President Sonny Albarado sent a letter to Kathie Winograd, president of CNM, reiterating SPJ’s displeasure with the initial actions against the publication and expressing satisfaction with the reversal.
“College students are prone to pushing the limits on taste, and the sex edition no doubt raised a few eyebrows,” Albarado wrote in his letter. “But confiscating newspapers, suspending publication and chastising students for expressing themselves, even in uncomfortable ways, is not the solution. We are glad you reconsidered and returned the newspapers and reinstated the staff.”
He also praised Winograd’s decision to explore ways to improve journalism education at CNM.
“The best college newspapers typically employ a full-time adviser experienced in journalism who is shielded from punishment for students’ content-based news decisions,” Albarado wrote. “We encourage you to adopt a policy declaring the student paper a public forum free from censorship, which also has the benefit of protecting the college from libel suits – if the college doesn’t control the content then it can’t be held liable.”
See the full letter here.