Student Newspapers Shut Down After April Fool’s Day Issues
Some university and college student newspapers publish joke editions on April 1, April Fool’s Day. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports two student newspapers suffered repercussions because of their joke issues.
After running a racially offensive cartoon, an image of female genitalia, and poems about mutilation and rape, student editors suspended publication of Carnegie Mellon’s Tartan and several staff members have either stepped down or been dismissed. The newspaper staff has apologized and may face disciplinary action.
The University of Scranton newspaper The Aquinas supposedly ran libelous material in its April 1 edition. Campus officials have stopped its publication and pulled the April 1 issues. It’s rumored that the newspaper printed inappropriate jokes, referenced a priest, uh, entertaining a woman during the movie The Passion of the Christ, and ran a spoof about two priests boxing. The Student Publication Board, which investigated the complaints against the newspaper, recommends the publication develop a statement of ethics before resuming publications and remove its student editor.
