CALIFORNIA — A student who admitted to stealing and shredding copies of the Courier, Pasadena City College’s student newspaper, has been ordered by the university to serve community service hours and repay the costs for the damaged issues.
In May, garbage bags filled with torn copies of the newspaper were dropped off at the Courier‘s office with a note attached claiming that Chicano and Latino student group MEChA was responsible. Courier staff members filed a police report and an investigation followed.
Mikki Bollinger, the paper’s adviser, said that one student took responsibility for the entire incident. She said the young man did not give out any other names and that he said he acted on his own.
The student was ordered to pay $1,050 for the stolen papers and must also serve a minimum of 40 hours of community service. Bollinger said staff members are satisfied with the resolution.
“We were satisfied with that and that the college didn’t just let it go,” she said.
Student leaders of MEChA have maintained that the group was not responsible for the theft, though individual members may have been involved.
Bollinger said that there is no lingering animosity between the Courier and MEChA and that student leaders from both organizations have met to discuss the incident.