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University Daily Kansan Monday. Oct. 22. 1962.
Silencing the CU Daily
Last week Quigg Newton, president of the University of Colorado, arbitrarily fired Gary Althen, editor of the CU student newspaper, the Colorado Daily.
In firing Althen, President Newton disregarded the wishes of the student government, the Faculty Senate, and the Board of Student Publications. At the same time, he reversed a stand he had taken when he defended freedom of discussion by telling Sen. Barry Goldwater: "Senator, I shall not silence them."
THIS ABRUPT REVERSAL, and the arbitrary way in which it was made, makes it appear that the Colorado Daily was a pawn in a political battle and was suppressed when it was no longer useful in that battle.
Began Last March
The controversy at Colorado goes back much further than the libelous attack on Sen. Goldwater by philosophy student Carl Mitcham. It can be traced to last March, when Sen. Goldwater spoke at CU.
It was a stormy affair. A group of students picketed in front of the auditorium, and Sen. Goldwater was heckled during his speech. The Colorado Daily disagreed, editorially, with the sentiments Goldwater expressed in his speech.
THE UNIVERSITY of Colorado appears to have a large number of liberal elements on campus and the Colorado Daily has maintained a liberal editorial policy.
This liberalism was attacked several times during second semester. In January, a state Senator criticized the Newton administration and the university's "moral tone." A professor of political science charged that there was a "conspiracy" against him. An American Legion official demanded an investigation of "un-American activities" at CU, referring to the heckling of Sen. Goldwater.
KU Criticized
Such criticism is familiar to most universities including the University of Kansas. Last year, for example, a Kansas legislator charged that there are no conservatives on the KU political science faculty. The biggest controversy arose when a Wichita American Legion post demanded an investigation of KU's "World Crisis Day" because of the appearance of Alexander Fomin, counselor to the Soviet embassy.
THESE ATTACKS have assumed frightening proportions in California. Recent articles in The Nation and Look Magazine told how John Birch Society members and other ultra-conservative elements have gained control of local school boards in several cities, and have engaged in textbook burning, teacher intimidation, and indoctrination of students.
The current issue of Harper's Magazine relates how academic freedom has been stifled in many Southern colleges by politicians who do not like the moderate views on segregation by many students and faculty members.
Looking for Issue?
At Colorado, the situation was even worse because of the upcoming election of members of the CU Board of Regents. It appears that at least one candidate—Dr. Dale Atkins—was looking for an issue with which to discredit Newton's administration.
THE CONTROVERSY over the Colorado Daily began when Gary Althen wrote an editorial in which he criticized the "idiocy" of the university supporting an "exorbitant weekly circus." He was referring to the football program, which he said should either be strictly amateur, openly professional, or abolished altogether.
Dr. Atkins seized upon this, calling it "not in the vein of American thinking."
It is significant that the article which libeled Goldwater appeared in the same issue of the Daily; yet it did not come into the open until several days later, when the New Conservative—a weekly newspaper published off-campus by students who objected to the Colorado Daily's liberalism—printed Goldwater's demand for an apology.
DR. ATKINS suddenly realized he had an even better issue. Referring to the article on Goldwater, he said: "It is shocking and unbelievable that such a thing can happen in the United States. Mitcham attacks and ridicules all that is dear to most Americans—God, democracy, free enterprise, and the like."
This was followed by a stinging exchange between Sen. Goldwater and President Newton. Sen. Goldwater told Newton he was "concerned about the ability of people with un-American philosophy to have that philosophy displayed in the college press and . . . defended by that press."
Newton Replies
Newton, replying to Goldwater, said Goldwater had made himself "a symbol of the suppressive forces which are waging an all-out assault on the university." He ended the letter with the now-famous line: "Senator, I shall not silence them."
THE SECOND MITCHAM article appeared on a Monday referring to ex-President Eisenhower as an "old futzer" and a "lap-dog." Two days later, Newton told an alumni meeting that he was powerless to censure or censor the Daily.
"We do have some unorthodox and unpopular viewpoints, but we must protect the rights of persons who hold these views," he said. "This is the essence of a free university."
At the same time, however, such personages as Gov. Steve McNichols and U.S. Sen. John Carroll made public statements which indicated they did not like the controversy over the Daily. Suddenly, Newton appeared to change his mind about silencing the paper.
He asked the Board of Student Publications to fire Althen. It refused to do so, by a 4-2 vote, with one of the three faculty members joining the three students in voting to uphold Althen.
Transfer Requested
NEWTON THEN ASKED the Board of Regents to transfer control of the Daily from the publications board to the School of Journalism. The Regents refused to vote on the proposal, although they did give Newton the power to appoint three additional members to the publications board.
Earlier, both the Student Senate and the Faculty Senate had passed resolutions upholding Althen.
Three days after the Regents meeting, Newton fired Althen, saying he believed it was "in the best interests of the university."
IT IS NOT "in the best interests of the university" to bow to political pressure, as it appears Newton has done. It is not "in the best interests of the university" to fire the editor of a free student newspaper after he has been upheld by student government, the Faculty Senate, and the board which has been given the authority to control the paper.
It must be emphasized that we are not defending the libel against Sen. Goldwater. It should be remembered, however, that Newton did not speak of firing Althen after this article.
Not Defending Libel
PRESIDENT NEWTON HAD the "right" to do anything he wanted—including firing Althen because of his position as head of the university. But the very nature of a free university makes it extremely unwise for a university president to operate the institution as he would operate a corporation.
The second article, referring to Eisenhower, was not libelous, although perhaps in poor taste. But again, Newton did not speak of firing Althen until criticism began coming from people other that Goldwater and Dr. Atkins.
Hopefully, the all-university referendum this week will cause Newton to realize the disservice he has done the University of Colorado by arbitrarily firing Althen. It would be tragic if a student paper such as the Colorado Daily is made the victim of a political battle and of political pressure.
-Clayton Keller
Goldwater's Letter
"Your telegram of apology for the libelous article which appeared in a recent supplement of the Colorado Daily has been received. The apology is appreciated, but the harm remains and I must comment on it.
"It isn't what you said about me or who said it. It was the fact that it has now become obvious that this type of attack is the rule rather than the exception at the University of Colorado.
"I am far more concerned about the ability of people with an un-American philosophy to have that philosophy displayed in the college press and, in some cases, defended
by that press, than I am about what happens to me or my name. I have spoken with groups of some 250 colleges and schools in this country, and this is the only one where the Socialists, or whatever you care to call them, seem to have the ability to do what they want without censure.
"I must because of this, then, come to the conclusion that you either do not know what is going on in the university, or you don't care, and in charity, I will presume the former. To put it briefly, I doubt that you have the interest or the concern to be in the position you hold."
Newton's Answer
"You have made it quite clear that your involvement with the University of Colorado goes far beyond the discomfort you feel at being called names by college students. For this, I must, in all sincerity, thank you. At long last, the real issue has been joined. No longer need we engage in fruitless exchanges about the bad manners of a handful of students whose violent expressions of opinion only embarrass their friends and strengthen their enemies.
"What remains now is the simple fact that you do not like the way our university is being run. My first impulse was to reply, as politely as possible, that I did not consider it any of your business. But, on reflection, I do not think that would be accurate. The real issue does involve you, because you have made yourself a symbol of the suppressive forces which are
waging an all-out assault on the university...
"We have a genuine democracy of ideas on our campus. We have fought long and hard to achieve it, and the fight has been against those who — like yourself — believe the function of a university is to indoctrinate, rather than educate; to control thought, rather than to stimulate it.
"The cry you raise has a very familiar ring to us: 'You must silence those who do not agree with me.'
"We have heard it from the John Birchers . . . from the local Goldwaters. It is always the same: 'Our way is the only American way. All others are un-American and subversive. You must silence those who do not agree with us.'
"Senator, I shall not silence them."
Daily Hansan
University of Kansas student newspaper
Founded 1889, became biweekly 1904, triweekly 1908, daily Jan. 16, 1912.
Telephone VIking 3-2700
Extension 711, news room Extension 376, business office
Member Inland Daily Press Association. Associated Collegiate Press. Represented by National Advertising Service, 18 East 50 St., New York 22, N.Y. News service: United Press International. Mail subscription rates: $3 a semester or $5 a year. Published in Lawrence, Kan., every afternoon during the University year except Saturdays and Sundays, University holidays, and examination periods. Second class postage paid at Lawrence, Kansas.
NEWS DEPARTMENT
Managing Editor
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Clayton Keller and Bill Sheldon Co-Editorial Editors Richard Bonett, Dennis Farney, Zeke Wigglesworth, and Bill Mullins, Assistant Managing Editors; Mike Miller, City Editor; Steve Clark, Sports Editor; Margaret C carth, Society Editor.
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT
Charles Martinache ... Business Manager
Jack Cannon, Advertising Manager; Doug Farmer, Circulation Manager;
Gene Spalding, National Advertising Manager; Bill Woodburn, Classified Advertising Manager; Dan Meek, Promotion Manager
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