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.