The SPLC has cosigned a letter with Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and National Coalition Against Censorship demanding Texas State University reverse its threats to defund TSU’s student newspaper in the wake of a controversial op-ed.
On Nov. 28, The University Star ran a column titled “Your DNA is an abomination” in which a student wrote about race and “whiteness” and ended by saying, “Until then, remember this: I hate you because you shouldn’t exist. You are both the dominant apparatus on the planet and the void in which all other cultures, upon meeting you, die.”
In response, the TSU student government president called for the resignation of the writer, the editor-in-chief, and the opinions editor of The University Star and threatened to defund the paper if they remained on staff. Other university president and vice president have also spoken out against the paper.
This is a clear infringement on the editorial independence of The University Star, and a threat to the free speech and free press rights of the students involved.