Publications committee lays guidelines
Marisol Urrutia
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Other News
Although it will not exercise prior review of content, the publications committee that will oversee the Cauldron and the Laurels will take "corrective action" against those publications when necessary in its role as "publisher" on behalf of UST.
At the committee's first meeting on March 27, committee chair and Dean of Arts and Sciences Dominic Aquila said the student publications committee will obey its mandate not to exercise prior review of the content of student publications.
"We are not a board of censorship, so nothing gets passed before us before it gets published, so [there will be] no prior review of content," Aquila said. "This is an important clause in [the committee's mission statement] here because it's no secret that this committee has caused some unsettledness on campus and in the wider community of communications."
However, English department chair and committee member Kerry MacArthur said that if the committee were convened to discuss a literary work or an article that violated professional standards or the University's mission, it would be the committee's right to make a corrective move. He said that students and editors involved in student publications, although not hired by the University, act as employees of the publisher-UST.
Committee member and communication department chair Robin Williamson argued that covering news in accordance with accepted professional standards could create tension with UST's mission. "I have no problem with academic excellence and high professional standards; however, there could be a problem between the mission of the University, however that is defined or operated, and no exercise of prior review of content," she said. "If the committee or the University doesn't like what the Cauldron publishes, then we're kind of in a Catch 22."
Williamson said that the traditional way to deal with a problematic piece would be for the newspaper's editorial staff to respond to the upset reader.
At the committee's first meeting on March 27, committee chair and Dean of Arts and Sciences Dominic Aquila said the student publications committee will obey its mandate not to exercise prior review of the content of student publications.
"We are not a board of censorship, so nothing gets passed before us before it gets published, so [there will be] no prior review of content," Aquila said. "This is an important clause in [the committee's mission statement] here because it's no secret that this committee has caused some unsettledness on campus and in the wider community of communications."
However, English department chair and committee member Kerry MacArthur said that if the committee were convened to discuss a literary work or an article that violated professional standards or the University's mission, it would be the committee's right to make a corrective move. He said that students and editors involved in student publications, although not hired by the University, act as employees of the publisher-UST.
Committee member and communication department chair Robin Williamson argued that covering news in accordance with accepted professional standards could create tension with UST's mission. "I have no problem with academic excellence and high professional standards; however, there could be a problem between the mission of the University, however that is defined or operated, and no exercise of prior review of content," she said. "If the committee or the University doesn't like what the Cauldron publishes, then we're kind of in a Catch 22."
Williamson said that the traditional way to deal with a problematic piece would be for the newspaper's editorial staff to respond to the upset reader.