"We are not amused."

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 16, 2004

Strong, swift, decisive administrative action at a Jesuit college. Uh-oh.

The Aquinas, a student run newspaper at Scranton University was shut down last week after releasing an April Fools' Day Issue which parodied The Hoya. The newspaper was renamed The Hoya for the issue and contained stories with fake authors that made fun of college administrators and sensitive religious and political issues. ... On April 2 the administration removed the issue from circulation, fired Sean Matthews, editor-in-chief of the paper, and changed the locks to The Aquinas' office.

Timothy Gabrielli, Scranton Student Government President, said that the April 1st issue magnified the problems that the university community has had with the paper all year. "We fully support the decision of the publications board and the administration to suspend temporarily the publication of The Aquinas because of the complaints we received all year long regarding the professionalism and journalistic quality of The Aquinas," he said. In a letter to the Vice President for Student Affairs on April 2, he called the paper continuously offensive, potentially libelous and misrepresentative of the University of Scranton community.

OK, the admin moves in to quash a student paper that spoofed it, and the president of student government commends the action on the grounds that the paper was offensive and "misrepresentative" of the university community. No garments have been rent in the praetorium of the ACLU. Any guesses?