SPLC

The proposal aims to remove the phrase "or punish" from the line in the "Protected Speech" section of its bylaws.

The idea does not sit well with many involved in student publications at CSU.

"This would be de facto censorship," said Jeff Browne, director of student media.

In an editorial Tuesday, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, the student-run newspaper on campus, criticized the proposed change, saying it would send a message to future editors that there are limits to what they can say.

"Students would have the right to print without oversight, but then be fired for it if the Board so chooses," the editorial said.

Browne said Jim Landers, interim president of the board, introduced the change during an Oct. 30 meeting. The BSC, which describes itself as the newspaper's publisher, will vote on the proposal in December.

In an article Tuesday, The Collegian reported that editor in chief David McSwane -- who is a non-voting member of the Board -- left early from Tuesday's meeting and was not made aware of the proposal.

Landers later told The Collegian that "as publisher, BSC has ultimate authority. This reflects reality. In the real world, which the Collegian is supposed to prepare you for, an editor works for a publisher."

Landers did not return calls from the Student Press Law Center seeking comment Tuesday and Wednesday.

Because the board comprises three faculty members and seven student members appointed by the university's Board of Governors, the BSC remains affiliated with Colorado State, a public university.

Mike Hiestand, legal consultant for the SPLC, said the bylaws make little difference. Punishing students for occasionally running material some may see as indecent would violate their First Amendment rights, he said. Because CSU is a public university, the board cannot punish student publications based on content.

"There's no way that the school legally, under the current law, could be allowed to do the sort of things that they are proposing," Hiestand said. "Profanity is protected expression."

Browne said he understands the frustration the board has with being a publisher, yet not having the powers one would have at a commercial paper. But because some board members are employees at a public university, "you are an agent of the government, and shouldn't be censoring student publications."

If the change is passed by the board at its December meeting, Browne said the proposal probably will be received by the university's legal counsel, as well as the school's board of governors.

Browne said he would rather not speculate whether either group would take any action on the change, only saying that "if the board passes this there will be institutional checks."

Amy Parsons, associate legal counsel at CSU, said because the university's legal department had not yet received any official proposal form the board, she could not comment.

Parsons did reiterate that no decision by the BSC would become university policy until it was submitted to CSU's legal department and the university system's governing body approved the change.

The Collegian drew national media attention when it printed a four-word editorial --"Taser this ... Fuck Bush" -- in its Sept. 21 edition. After several student organizations called for McSwane's removal, the BSC held two meetings -- one public and one private -- to determine McSwane's fate.

The board decided not to remove McSwane, but admonished him for choosing to run the editorial. The board said although it felt McSwane's decision was "unethical" and "unprofessional," the editorial was an expression of opinion, and thus protected by the First Amendment.

Browne said if the proposed change were to go become a reality, the effect on student media at CSU would be minimal because it refers only to the occasional use of profanity. It would, however, set a poor precedent for future free-speech battles at the university, Browne said.

"The overall impact from an everyday sort of standpoint isn't that great, probably," Browne said. But from a philosophical standpoint, from setting a precedent, the potential impact is great."