Aprils Fools has seen its last edition
By:
Shandra Jordan
J.J. Babb
Patrick Crossland
Christopher J. Ortiz
The last time the Collegian printed an April’s Fools Day edition
was in 2002. It included stories about Britney Spears eloping with
P. Diddy and other jokes of the same nature.
Three student newspaper were shut down this year after printing
a spoof edition. They included parodies about Mel Gibson’s “The
Passion of the Christ” and racially charged stories and
cartoons.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
and the Urban League followed with complaints to the University of
Nebraska at Omaha after it printed, “Gateway camera stolen during
weekend” with the byline of Mindjo Bidness, CNN reports.
As a professional publication, our goal is to minimize harm by
carefully considering the content of every issue. If the content we
are putting in is fictional, it does the reader no good and the
risk of unintentionally offending someone is even greater.
The Collegian decided not to print an April’s Fools Day edition
because the editorial board feels the spoofs tarnish the reputation
the paper works hard to achieve throughout the entire year.
It is just too easy to offend and upset readers with these kinds
of editions.
They can be funny, but jokes are always at someone else’s
expense and the role of a newspaper is not to alienate readers and
make them feel badly about themselves or a group they are
affiliated with.
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