Working for a college newspaper was always supposed to be, if nothing else, fun. You learned to craft a lede, felt the thrill of seeing your byline in print, and along the way pushed a few boundaries that could never be pushed in the real world.
But recently many college administrators have apparently decided that student newspapers should be nothing less than miniature versions of The New York Times or Wall Street Journal. College papers, they believe, should not only be held to the same standards as professional publications, but should also shun any stories that show a glimmer of youthful irreverence or wit, or involve topics that might actually interest college students. Like sex.
In other words, they want college papers to be just as stodgy and dull as their professional counterparts.
A few examples:
• University of Montana law professor Kristen Juras complained that a sex column in the student paper was "embarrassingly unprofessional" and that it affected her reputation as a member of the school's faculty. Juras even tried to get the state legislature to censor the column. (In response, the student columnist stated the obvious: "We're college students, and sex is on our minds.")
• The editor of the Towerlight, the Towson University student paper, resigned under pressure following a controversy over a column about masturbation. One student, a tabloid editor in the making, told a reporter, "It got people to read the Towerlight."
• University of Utah administrators placed holds on the transcripts of the student paper's nine columnists after a recent issue carried thinly veiled references to genitalia.
And lest anyone think this is entirely about sex, here's an example involving cows:
• A photographer for the Ohio State student paper who shot pictures of cows that escaped on campus was handcuffed and detained by cops and faces possible charges of criminal trespassing. A campus official told him he was not allowed to take photos of attempts to corral the cattle.
What's even more depressing is how many student editors seem to have taken all of this high-minded seriousness to heart. A recent Washington Post article chronicled how many college papers were no longer even doing April Fool's issues, a time-honored collegiate tradition, because student editors, old before their time, were fretting about journalism ethics and credibility.
(As the faculty adviser to a college paper I've had my own experience with this: A few years ago our paper ran an April Fool's article about a blind student's guide dog mauling a professor, complete with a staged photograph of the vicious "attack." An indignant faculty member complained loudly that this somehow demeaned blind people, then slunk away sheepishly when she learned the article had been dreamed up and written by - you guessed it - a blind student.)
Now, do student newspapers sometimes go too far? Sure. Do they make mistakes? Absolutely.
But that's why they're called student newspapers. They're a place where fledgling journalists can learn their trade and, for a brief moment in time, actually enjoy themselves before they're swallowed up by the meat grinder we call the news business.
Sure, student reporters should soak up all the journalistic know-how they can in school, so when they do turn pro they'll be really good. And yes, they should learn about journalism ethics, standards, and all that stuff.
But they should also have a little fun along the way, because things get a lot more serious once you're out there in the big bad American news business.
So to all the fussy college administrators I say, try to remember when you were 19. And to all the student journalists I say, go write a sex column. But watch your AP style.
