'Sensationalized and -Utterly 9 Lewd Material' in Bad Taste i • • -STATE NEWS i -FRANK B. SENGER c another agonized EDITORIAL ; As of Wednesday morning, THE fensive. We knew, of course, that PAPER has not been banned from the some people who chanced to seethe campus. one issue might be mildly offended, _ Whether it will be, we don't know. The ASMSU Resolution but we can't write for the benefit Whether the Board of Student Pub­ of the WCTU, the Boy Scouts of Am­ lications intended it to be when it The following resolution was passed by a 10-2 vote of the Student erica, or even (Anne Garrison not­ revoked our authorization last Friday, Board of ASMSU Tuesday night, after a discussion and debate on withstanding) the class of 1916. we can only guess. Our guess is that the question of THE PAPER'S loss of authorization. If THE PAPER is not published for it intended EXACTLY that. people with a certain degree of ma­ That's the major reason we've been Whereas, the Student Board of ASMSU feels that the Board of Student Pub­ turity, it might as well not be pub­ so upset. lications' withdrawal of THE PAPER'S authorization was not consid­ lished at all. If our readers find There are plenty of minor reasons. ered in depth; and something we publish offensive, we For example, a prominent university Whereas, the Student Board feels that THE PAPER can be a definite asset would like to be told directly, so official has privately characterized to the student body and the academic community; that we can either state our defense the current controversy as a battle Therefore, be it resolved that ASMSU recommend: or admit our mistake. between those who want "decency" 1) that the authorization of THE PAPER be reconsidered, with any In this case, as it happens, we have and those who want "filth." charges made public to the editor of THE PAPER, and the editor of a defense. Paul Krassner is a lib­ Guess where WE wound up. THE PAPER be given an opportunity to discuss the situation with the ertarian, a (Webster:) "person who Our press clippings are getting Board of Student Publications; advocates full civil liberties." He really impressive. The State News 2) furthermore, that the Board of Student Publications codify and has shown in his writing and showed this morning referred to our printing publicize: in his talk at MSU a deep moral of "flagrant vulgar and inappropriate A) the ramifications of authorization, the rights and responsibil­ concern about the violations of indi­ language," 'condemned our " sensa­ ities of the publication, and the legal liability of the university; vidual freedom—freedom, that is, tionalized and lewd material," and B) the relationship of the Board of Student Publications to the from irrational and immoral re­ wound up calling either THE PAPER content of any authorized publication; and straints on speech or conduct. (Grant­ or some unspecified part of our last C) grounds, if any, for de-authorization of an authorized student ed, a more complete sampling of his issue "trash." publication; and remarks would have made this clear­ On the same page was a letter from 3) finally, that withdrawal of the authorization of any publication should er; but we thought our readers might Mrs. Anne Garrison, a member of the not affect that publication's right to distribute or sell on campus. reasonably expect a preponderance of pub board, calling us "prurient" and This resolution, upon passage, shall be sent to President Hannah, all humor.) apparently accusing us of a "viola­ members of the Board of Student Publications, the editor of the State News, One of Krassner's concerns is tion of a deep human need for social and the editor of THE PAPER, hypocrisy, the irrational prohibitions decency." of certain words in certain situations, The abuse heaped upon us probably words that happen to be the only ac­ ^^eh^^otft^*$0&&M «?trac ^tmax. be—but there's no need to bore any­ curate words availabl e-^-like f **k and when ^JLittle old lady (nobody noticed is that, when the pub board is dis­ one with it; the small insults and in­ f **t. We believe his remarks on the * ••" if she wCs'wfeafing sneakers) walked pleased with other authorized publi­ juries are our own problem. subject were funny and valid. past one of our salesmen, stared at cations (e.g., the State News) it calls There are, heaven knows, a few In any case, we ran THE WORD only him, and simply hissed. in the individuals accused of offend­ BIG questions around: "sensational­ to provide a point of reference for a What can we say? We are frankly ing the readership and counsels or ized and lewd material" and THE remark on American foreign policy, astonished by the uproar. At our disciplines them; it does not hastily PAPER'S right to distribute on cam­ in which he was explaining why on a staff meeting Sunday night, someone drop the whole publication. pus, for two. poster he had applied THE WORD to suggested we treat the whole affair When we were authorized, the pub Dick Ogar introduced Paul Kras- Communism. We can only agree with . as an in-joke between us and the pub board emphasized the need for a sner on stage May 7 as "MSU's Krassner that "any policeman who board. means of insuring THE PAPER'S next crisis." Little did he know . • says that this appeals to his prurient Black humor, you know. permanence and stability after the He was only half right, though; the interest has a severe psychological Before we take up the question of, current staff had left the university. excerpts from Krassner's talk pro­ problem." God help us, "obscenity," we should In short, it clearly differentiated vided half our present troubles, but If anything else in the article of­ tell you a little more about the pub THE PAPER as a university institu­ his own article on nudity rounded out fended anyone, nobody has told us. board's procedures, which even the tion from its temporal staff. The the situation to a rich, full-blown cri- We think everything in it can be de­ State News managed to find "inex­ question is: if, by some hideous aber­ sis fended, but anyone who feels other­ cusable." ration, the State News had published First, what about Dick's article? wise is welcome to present cogent Everybody knows that we had no the articles in question, would ITS We liked it, personally, but people arguments to that effect. It Is, we warning, no opportunity to defend our­ authorization have been summarily have told us they found it "dry'? or guess, within the realm of possibility selves. What everybody doesn't know withdrawn? The answer should be "dull" or too "scientific," and we that we are wrong. is that Frank Senger, chairman of the obvious. can at least under stand their feelings. We do not consider anything the pub pub board, told us to stdy away from We find it insulting that the entire We CANNOT understand the feelings board has said to fall within the cate­ the meeting because it was almost value of THE PAPER as a voice in of those whose "prurient interest" gory of cogent arguments. Mr. Senger certain no action would be taken. He the community was judged on the ba­ (as the phrase goes) was, it seems, has called both articles "utterly in said that President Hannah personally sis of two articles. If we judged all dangerously aroused by it. bad taste." In what way? WHOSE idea * agreed that hasty action was inad­ publications on a similar basis, very It did not advocate the violent over­ of bad taste? If we were offensive, visable. few (and certainly not the State News) throw of clothing and included none whom did we offend and what good f What everybody doesn't know is that would survive the test. of the words often considered "un­ reasons did they have for being of­ the pub board's requirements for Apparently as an afterthought (no­ printable"; it was a psychological, fended? A gut reaction is not an ar­ authorization deal only with non-edi­ body ever tells us anything around sociological and philosophical dis­ gument. torial (i.e., business and personnel) here), the pub board justified its cussion of the topic, and since it was Mr. Senger has called the reasons standards of procedure, and that many action on the grounds of our "shaky all that, no wonder a few people found for the pub board's action "self- members of the pub board, including financial condition." Suffice it to say It dry. evident." Not to us, not to many the chairman, have frequently said that we are if anything in less shaky Even supposing that parts of it could continued on page 5 that the board was not concerned with financial condition than we have been be found in poor taste (which we the content of the publication. in for quite a while, have worked DON'T suppose), we can't understand Did he think that some observ­ Their less than two pages of vague harmoniously with the University how anyone who bothered to read it Business Office, have heretofore re­ ers might say that the board's rules indicate no guidelines for or could miss its "redeeming social rapid action constituted a viola­ interest in content, so that an author­ ceived nothing resembling a com­ importance," as the other phrase plaint about our finances.