Rumors are circulating around Clemson University’s campus about the theftof 7,000 to 8,000 copies of a 12,000-paper press run on Oct. 13, pointingthe finger at readers angered by several of the issue’s controversial articles.
TheTiger’shomecoming issue contained a controversial article on NationalComing Out Week, which publicized the success of the gay and lesbian celebration,as well as an article critical of four murder investigations by local policedepartments involving Clemson students in the past eight years.
Phil Caston, editor of The Tiger,said Clemson is a very conservativeschool and the Coming Out Day celebrations offended some students, whomay have retaliated by stealing the papers.
Caston said the lengthy feature article on the unsolved Clemson studentmurders, which was intentionally printed in the homecoming issue to informparents in town for parents’ weekend, could have angered the administration.But Joy Smith, dean of student life, assured Caston that no administratorswould have stolen newspapers to make the campus seem safer to visitingparents.
Caston added that police have not ruled out the possibility that thetheft was committed as a prank by an organization on campus during thefloat-building activities for the homecoming parade.
“The list of suspects is a mile long,” Caston said.
In September, almost the entire 3,500-paper press run of Miami-DadeCommunity College’s North Campus newspaper was confiscated by the collegepresident — who said he was upset over spelling and grammatical errorsin the paper.
Yanira Sotolongo-Cuzan, editor of The Falcon Times,said she feltthe president’s attempt to silence the paper may have been motivated byan article that criticized the school’s handicap access as well as a storythat humorously attacked the school’s lack of organization on the firstday of classes.
Castell Bryant, president of the North Campus demanded that the newspaperstaff reprint the issue with grammar and spelling corrections. Sotolongo-Cuzanresponded that Bryant had no right to demand anything.
Rather than reprinting, Sotolongo-Cuzan and her staff decided to continuewith the next issue, adding to it the timely articles from the previousone with the noted corrections.