This law currently fails to address the problems faced by free-drop papers across the nation, and opens the way for censorship by parties who disagree with the views of the "offending" publication. In itself, this law also fails to provide protection for the organizationŐs First Amendment Rights, namely the Freedom of Press. When the Freedom of Press is denied, tyranny is one step closer to becoming reality. It is necessary for our state representatives and Congressional representatives to demand and implement a change to this paper-tiger of a law that does not adequately protect the freedom of speech and press for smaller and not-for-profit publications such as the Michigan Daily or the Michigan Review.
It is simply morally reprehensible for this act to be committed or justify, as some have done. It is even worse when the law allows these criminal acts to happen. To merely sit with their hands tied while a small group of misguided people censor sources of information and enjoyment from the rest of the community, is a slap in the face to every person who has ever worked on a publication that goes against the status quo or that sometimes voices unpopular opinions. We have seen this happen across the nation as angry leftists make their voice heard by muffling that of any vocal conservative or even liberal opposition, whether at the University of Michigan, George Washington University, or the University of Pennsylvania. In an University environment, such actions cannot be tolerated, and the thieves who stole from the Daily and the University Community on March 27th should be rightfully condemned by the University administration, the Michigan Student Assembly, and by all free-minded students on campus for their childish and inexcusable action. The University environment should be an environment where every personŐs right to free speech, free assembly, and free press is upheld, regardless of who it offends or who it pleases. It should not be an environment where only the views of the extremely vocal Politically Correct trimuph at the expense of others. If there are people --and there are-- who are angry with the way that the Dailyor any other campus publication works, then they have the far more democratic and free tradition of writing a Letter to the Editor, or they have the option to join that paper and try to influence it. If the students involved in the recent protest --who did the right thing by protesting instead of stealing half the press run of the dayŐs paper --were truly willing to make a difference at the Daily, they would have all joined that very night and began working to make the paper their paper.
We applaud the Daily for their restraint in their decision not to prosecute the offenders under the Code for Student Conduct. Even though the action of the thieves was beneath contempt, and that prosecution under the Code would probably be the only way for the Daily to receive any kind of restitution, the Daily has made the right decision. To charge a student under the Code, a process that has been inherently flawed since conception and remains so, will only serve to create the question of whether the students charged would be able to receive a fair trial, due to the fact that the Code is in itself a flawed document and also due to the fact that the incident has received so much press. Since the University has shown in the past that they are incompetent in dealing with the Code or Code related issues, trial by Code would be a farce for both the student and the Daily . It is a hard pill to swallow, but by refusing to prosecute under the Code, the Daily stands up for what it believes in.
We hope that the Daily, by being able to successfully implement other legal alternatives, will gain justice for what happened. To deny the freedom of press to any group on campus is to begin the march down the dark path to a politically correct tyranny, whereas the exemplification of the ideals behind the freedom of press will lead to a more informed, aware, and interested student body. We have two choices, and the latter is by far the best choice to take. But as the actions of a few misguided individuals has proved, we cannot rely on the innate good will of man alone. We must rely on law, and accordingly, the Federal and State laws applicable in this situation must be changed to protect the rights of any publication, no matter how liberal or conservative that publication may be. We must make the laws that enforce the First Amendment have teeth, or face the consequences in future.