ARIZONA -- Approximately 10,000 copies of The Daily
Wildcat, the official newspaper of the University of Arizona, were stolen
around 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Wildcat Editor-in-Chief Alex Dalenberg estimated about 10,000 copies
of the paper were taken -- the majority of the 13,000 copies printed daily.
The police report does not include an exact number of how many papers were
taken.
Mike Spohn, advertising manager for student media at the University of
Arizona, was the first person to report the crime to campus police at 8:40
a.m.
According to the police report, the individuals involved were seen leaving
the scene of the crime in a 1990s model tan or beige Toyota Camry. The value of
the papers taken was estimated to be between $2,500 and $4,000.
Dalenberg expressed concern that the thefts could possibly be an attempt at
censorship of The Wildcat.
"If you try to steal every copy of a paper, that's a pretty
blatant and deliberate attempt to silence the press," he said.
Dalenberg said there are currently no definite leads in the case. He said
it was too early to point fingers or place blame, and he could not think of any
content in the paper that would have motivated the crime.
The "edgiest" story printed in the paper was in the crime
report section, Dalenberg said, where a woman reported to the campus police that
she was drugged at a frat party.
Robert Shelton, president of the University of Arizona, expressed
disappointment with the actions of the thieves.
"I find this theft to be outrageous and completely counter to the
principles of freedom of expression that we embrace at the UA," he said in
an email to The Wildcat.
Juan Alvarez, the school's public information officer, said the case
is currently closed, pending further information. He said in order for the
investigation to continue, the school's police department needs more
information on the suspects.
"There's not a whole lot we can do," Alvarez said.
Dalenberg said there are a number of reasons he is personally upset about
the theft.
"This is disappointing to our readers, because The Daily
Wildcat is part of people's routine," he said.
"We're part of people's lives ... if people are counting on
[the paper] to be there and it's not there, that's a disruption in
the community."
Dalenberg also said the staff of the paper would do all they could to try
to discover who was behind the thefts.
"If somebody is doing this to stop a story, they are about to be
sorely disappointed, because we're going to have to retell their whole
story once we figure this out," he said. "They picked a fight with
the wrong organization. We still buy our ink by the barrel."
By Michael Edwards, SPLC staff writer
