CNM student newspaper heads back to the presses

Central New Mexico Community College reinstated its student-run paper Wednesday, saying administrators suspended it because they were concerned about a high school student quoted in a published edition about sex.

The reinstatement took place at a meeting on campus Wednesday afternoon — a day after the suspension.

Also on Wednesday, the Daily Lobo, the University of New Mexico’s student-run paper, said it would stop publishing its print edition until the CNM Chronicle was reinstated.

CNM President Kathie Winograd delivered a speech at the meeting, saying the school would give confiscated newspapers back to the CNM Chronicle. The paper had dedicated its most recent issue to the topic of sex, including stories about sex classes and practices, sexual resources, an article on abstinence and a feature on “favorite sexual position.”

“We’re ecstatic. We’ve been really, really hopeful that this would be the outcome,” Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Jyllian Roach said. Roach had enlisted the help of the Student Press Law Center, a national organization, and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.

When the suspension was made public Tuesday, CNM administrators said it was due to long-standing concerns about oversight of the paper. But on Wednesday, Winograd said the school pulled the sex issue because “we needed to check on legal ramifications of information on a minor in a publication of the college.”

“I believe as a college, we have failed to provide the CNM Chronicle with the level of editorial resources and education that it needs and deserves,” Winograd’s statement said. “I hope that in today’s Publication Board meeting, the board will discuss ways the college can provide you a better educational experience through your participation with the CNM Chronicle. We encourage you to bring our community partners here today to the table to assist us in creating a positive situation moving forward.” The board is composed of students, faculty and staff.

The reinstatement is immediate, Winograd said.

Roach said the paper, which employs 13 students, will print a new issue on Tuesday. The Daily Lobo will also continue publishing.

The UNM paper had vowed to show solidarity with CNM students. Daily Lobo Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Cleary said CNM had “in a ruthless and authoritarian display of censorship, stripped students of some basic constitutional rights.”

CNM’s decision to halt the CNM Chronicle had made national news by Wednesday.

Roach, a sophomore studying sociology, said it had been complete chaos for her and her staff as they tried to sort things out. She said a lapse in communication between the administration and the paper over the administration’s concern was to blame for the kerfuffle.

Had administrators approached her before pulling copies and suspending the paper, “I think we could have resolved a lot of this within 10 minutes,” she said. Roach said only students have access to newspaper content before it’s published, but that it could have worked something out with the administration before being suspended.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal