Will Rogers, executive editor of the Liberty, said campus officials removed the paper's distribution bins during the winter 2009 term without warning, damaging some of them. Officials later told Rogers his staff does not have the same distribution rights as the Daily Barometer, OSU's official campus paper.

"Basically, the school is setting up a state-sponsored form of communication that if you don't play by their rules then you're not allowed to distribute the message, which is censorship," Rogers said. "They're stifling our ability to communicate."

Rogers said he believes they should have equal rights to distribute their work; the Liberty is published by OSU Students Alliance, a recognized student organization. OSU Student Alliance was founded as a publishing group by students who originally posted their articles online before launching the Liberty print edition in 2002 with private funding.

The conservative publication received a handful of bins from local businesses to place around campus. But earlier this year, the bins were gone.

Rogers said a former editor called the Oregon State Police to file a report. That led them to the university's Facilities Services Department.

According to e-mails in late April and early May between Rogers and Joe Majeski, a Facilities Services employee, university officials removed the bins — which involved cutting locks and chains for some —and stored them near a dumpster.

When Rogers retrieved them, he said some had been damaged. He noted the university gave Liberty editors in 2006 permission to place eight bins on campus. After one was stolen, the paper's staff chained the rest in place.

A collection of e-mails between Rogers and university employees show the dispute is centered on Liberty not being the campus' official paper. Several officials noted the Daily Barometer has been publishing for over 100 years. Officials also claimed they were controlling distribution to keep campus attractive for visiting parents.

None of the Daily Barometer's bins were removed.

With photos, Rogers documented a number of instances after Liberty's bins were confiscated where campus officials had left other "off-campus" bins in place with some — including a Daily Barometer bin — chained to university property. Officials told Rogers both were reasons for removing his bins.

In the most recent issue, the Liberty ran a photo of the poorly handled bins on its front page. The word "CENSORSHIP" covered the paper's name.

OSU Spokesman Todd Simmons said the university has a distribution policy for any publications that are not the Daily Barometer. Simmons did not have a copy of the policy, but said bins were removed to allow for maintenance access and foot traffic.

Charles Fletcher, the university's associate general counsel, said in an e-mail to Rogers that OSU does not need a policy to remove Liberty's bins.

"There is no specific written policy that governs the placement of publication bins, and none is required," Fletcher wrote.

Simmons said he does not feel the university's actions fall under censorship.

"[The Liberty] is certainly readily available here," he said. "There's been no effort on behalf of the university or anyone connected with the university to control their content or direct them what to write or what not to write."

But Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate for the Student Press Law Center, said it could be censorship if officials removed the bins because of the Liberty's content.

"Unless there is some legitimate government interest here — like safety or traffic concerns — the action would be illegal whether or not it's directed at the content of the publication," he added.

Goldstein also noted the university cannot favor their on-campus student paper over off-campus publications.

"What the law requires is that all publications be given a form of distribution that reaches the same potential audience," he said.

The Liberty currently has four on-campus bins — two on the inside and two on the outside of the school's memorial union, which is owned by the Associated Students of Oregon State University.

The Daily Barometer distributes to 124 locations on and around the OSU campus, an employee said. Aside from five main on-campus bins, they deliver bundles to most campus buildings and locations in the community.

Rogers said he wants the same treatment as the Liberty, adding he hopes all seven of their bins can be back on campus soon. He added that, in principle, they want equal prominence on campus.

"This doesn't look like the university wants to play fair," Rogers said. "We just want, given that it's a public university, to have them follow the same rules that are set forth by the Constitution."