Our View : Clear distinctions
By:
Shandra Jordan, editor in chief
Colleen Buhrer, managing editor
Kyle Endres, campus editor
Jason Kosena, asst. campus editor
Christopher J. Ortiz, opinion editor
Over the semester, we have noticed some readers have a fuzzy
understanding of the relationship between The Collegian and the
Associated Students of CSU. Students have requested ASCSU “do
something” about a controversial columnist earlier in the year;
this week, a few seniors with a sense of humor asked that the paper
change the way horoscopes were done and even suggested future ASCSU
presidential candidates make it part of their platform.
We understand that those seniors were making a funny, but the
editorial board feels we need to delineate the lines between the
student government and the student newspaper.
The Collegian is not a student organization or student group. In
comparative terms, The Collegian acts and operates more as a
business than anything else. The paper is in no way under the
supervision or dictation of ASCSU. The student government cannot
pass any legislation or hand down any regulation that changes how
the newspaper is managed nor can it have a bearing on what is
printed, what is said in the newspaper or who is hired and fired.
And vice versa.
The Collegian has no say over the operations of the student
government (little-known fact: in 1907 The Collegian created ASCSU,
known then as the Associated Students, to act as the paper’s
publisher and to collect students fees to pay for the newspaper).
We may have our disagreements, but today both organizations are
separate of each other.
The student government is the voice of Colorado State. ASCSU is
Colorado State’s student government. It works as a liaison between
the administration, faculty and students to promote student
interests, according to ASCSU’s mission statement. The Collegian is
here to act as a watchdog over the student government and give
readers balanced and unbiased coverage.
If students have concerns or suggestions about the paper, going
through ASCSU will be useless. Please contact an editor or come by
the newsroom (we would live there if cots were provided) and we
will listen.
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