LVN wrote:

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I'm not sure what to call this action, seeing as how the label "terrorist" has already been used up to describe the people who just complain about what they don't like . . . .

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If LVN is referring to my use of "Taliban" when describing those trying to impose their beliefs, taste or preferences on others through the use of power, then I need to make a correction here. LVN and I could never agreed on the issue of the "Taliban" being "terrorist". Is stealing papers a "terrorist's act"? However, it could be an act of "Taliban" if performed by campus Police.

I never heard anyone being upset about people "complaining", but rather being upset because they tried to use power to impose their view on everyone else.

LVN wrote:

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Stealing the papers is more an act of power than writing a letter to the editor. And over a sorority. Sheesh.

(Actually, it's an act of childishness, silliness, and vandalism. I just could not resist . . . now Atheist, could you turn down an opening like that?)

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LVN, I knew you were baiting me, but couldn't resist. Must be a slow Friday evening.

Would somebody post the article which presumably prompted the attempt to suppress? That gets some more exposure for it. And maybe the Printz could also run off a few thousand copies of the piece and post people at key locations around campus handing them out. The perps need to learn that, in this day and age, calling attention to an issue in this way can be worse than letting it slide.

HA, 11/4/06

http://hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061104/NEWS01/611040302

Thousands of 'Printz' copies come up missing

At least 2,000 copies of Thursday's edition of the University of Southern Mississippi student newspaper went missing after initial distribution, Student Printz staff members said Friday....

...The large-scale theft of student newspapers is increasingly common, said Mike Hiestand, an attorney and legal consultant to the Virginia-based Student Press Law Center....

..."Students and sometimes school officials are seeing this as a very effective form of censorship," he said. "It's the most effective form of censorship - to take the paper and trash it so no one can read it."...

[CORRECTION: In the Thursday print edition of The Student Printz, Elizabeth Brown was identified as a member of Chi Omega sorority. She is a former member. The Student Printz regrets the error.]

I like that aphorism: "No harm, no foul."  Unfortunately, I think the press -- including the student press -- sometimes act as if their standard retraction magically reverses all harm.

So the Printz prints a story that incorrectly identifies a potential Playboy model as a member of a particular group. Certain members of that group believe that the erroneous association would damage their collective reputation.  

What to do?

Certainly, the obvious and correct answer is: do nothing.  Let the erroneous information be disseminated, then begin the work of doing whatever it is one does to restore or repair one's damaged reputation. With any luck, the Printz will print a retraction. Yeah, that's the ticket. A retraction will wipe the slate clean.

Apparently, someone decided that this tempest was in her teapot.  She decided to actually take action. True, the article is still available online, but there, at least, we readers will be treated to the corrected version. 

Yes, the perps'll have to answer for their actions when they are identified. It's hard for me to figure what their crime will be. Probably vandalism, not theft.  How does one steal something that is put out to be taken without charge?  Anyway, they will be nailed and the embarrassment to any organization to which they belong probably will be greater than had they posed bare naked for Playboy. Oh well, they'll live and learn.

I am sympathetic to those who advertize in the Printz; their messages did not reach the audience for which they paid.  But I have to say, a part of me admires someone with the gumption to take a little risk and solve the problem directly, with a certain irony ("stealing" free papers) and simplicity.

Think "guerrillas," not "terrorists."

ram wrote:

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I... But I have to say, a part of me admires someone with the gumption to take a little risk and solve the problem directly, with a certain irony ("stealing" free papers) and simplicity.

Think "guerrillas," not "terrorists."

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I don't admire people who prevent me from getting information by imposing their censorship on everyone.
Here are a few questions: Whose problem needed to be solved? Was the girl trying to get into Playboy a member of the sorority at the time, but was kicked out so the sorority could claim it wasn't one of their members? In other words when did the girl leave the sorority?

Voter wrote:

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Would somebody post the article which presumably prompted the attempt to suppress?

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[original]
Harris encouraged USM girls to "go for it" because "you have nothing to lose." She felt comfortable and had fun, although she initially thought it would be awkward.

Some USM students argue, however, there is something to lose. Elizabeth Brown. sophomore double nursing and exercise physiology major is a member of the Chi Omega sorority. Although she did not hear any direct threats, she said sorority women would be disaffiliated if they auditioned for Playboy.

MTV reality television vixen and Playboy model Trishelle Cannatella, a former USM Chi Omega sister, was once asked to forfeit her sorority pin due to her behavior.

Orfanos said sorority restrictions are contradictory of the theme of sisterhood. She said for sorority members to doubt their sister's judgment is "stupid and immature." She said Playboy's recent trip to Tulsa for auditions presented the same Greek issues.

Brown also said posing for Playboy is "a bad representation of USM." She added, "It's going to make us look really bad. Girls should have pride in where we go to school."

Aside from some negative feedback, ...

[revised]
Harris encouraged USM girls to "go for it" because "you have nothing to lose." She felt comfortable and had fun, although she initially thought it would be awkward.

Orfanos said sorority restrictions are contradictory of the theme of sisterhood. She said for sorority members to doubt their sister's judgment is "stupid and immature." She said Playboy's recent trip to Tulsa for auditions presented the same Greek issues.

Some USM students argue, however, there is something to lose. Elizabeth Brown, a sophomore double nursing and exercise physiology major said posing for Playboy is "a bad representation of USM." She added, "It's going to make us look really bad. Girls should have pride in where we go to school."

Aside from some negative feedback, ...

HA, 7/26/06

...The Thad Cochran Center shows off this university's bounty indeed....

...A massive television screen greets visitors on the first floor, and images can be simultaneously broadcast throughout the building. Meanwhile, 120 security cameras keep an eye on the goings-on....

Isn't it strange that there have been no proclaimations of righteous indignation from the Dome? This is a crime, one that goes against what the country stands for. Clearly the President has to stand up against this act of hooliganism and come out in favor of rational dialogue as befits an institution of higher learning.

What was I thinking, its obvious, the destruction of a free press is a hallmark of a totalitarian regime. The silence of the Dome crew should be taken as complicity or at least as condoning the act.

OM

Printz--Paper thieves see justice

http://media.www.studentprintz.com/media/storage/paper974/news/2006/11/21/News/Paper.Thieves.See.Justice-2505089.shtml?sourcedomain=www.studentprintz.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

"After a diligent investigation by university police, about eight USM students will face punishment for trashing several stacks of the Nov. 2 Student Printz.    ...

"We worked with faculty advisors of the sorority to help identify those people responsible," said University Police Chief Bob Hopkins, adding the students were identified through video surveillance. "It took about a day to see what happened."    ...

The students responsible, he said, will together pay $750 in restitution to the Printz, apologize and perform community service as well as complete an online module about civility."

With this light of a "slap on the wrist" to the students involved, does this mean that Joe Paul and Eddie Holloway's jobs will be "re-evaluated" when SFT leaves?

Hattiesburg American Editorial on the Student Printz theft.

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/OPINION01/612030301