Calling all Americans! The Southwestern College newspaper is in need of your assistance. This is of the utmost importance.
Last week the award-winning Sun was forced to stop printing. The student newspaper violated the campus purchasing policy which requires approval for printing cost by the governing board.
The kicker is that this policy has not been enforced in more than 20 years.
As the editor-in-chief of the El Camino College campus newspaper, the Journalism Association of Community Colleges student president, and even as a journalist I must say that I am appalled and disgusted at the actions of the Southwestern College administration.
To try to silence The Sun is a huge infringement on their First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
Due to this infraction, The Sun will not be allowed to print an issue until a formal bidding process has been submitted and approved by a board vote which won’t be until November when the new board is appointed.
It is believed that all of this is being done in hopes of influencing the election process.
Though the administration has said that it is not a personal problem but a purchasing one, it still seems personal to me.
They even went as far as to have the campus police try an arrest several journalism students for allegedly taking newspaper property off campus grounds.
What the administration at Southwestern College has been able to get away with goes against everything the Constitution and the Bill of Rights stand for.
The Sun has been dealing with what some might call harassment from both the president, Raj K. Chopra and the governing board for quite some time.
Some say it’s because of their investigative reporting and their duty to tell the truth regardless of whom they may be reporting about.
It’s their duty to report the truth and they shouldn’t be penalized for it.
The Sun has competed against not only two-year colleges but also four-year colleges and has been winning awards for more than 10 years.
They have won numerous awards from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, Associated Collegiate Press, the National Newspaper Association, American Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press, in addition to national awards from Society of Professional Journalists.
Does this sound like a newspaper who’s voice should be extinguished? Does any of this make any sense?
To me it does not.
This newspaper should be admired , celebrated and congratulated for its hard work and perseverance.
The good news is that with the support of private donations, adviser Max Branscomb and his staff will be able to print issues for the remainder of the semester aside from their online publication.
The Union stands by The Sun and its right to not be silenced.
If we allow this travesty to continue, there’s a good chance that this could create a ripple effect that could affect all student publications in the future.