So the latest Non Cur came out today and it got me thinking about censorship. I’m buddies with two of the guys who run the Non cur and I’m familiar with the struggle they faced to get their paper started. If you read the school paper last semester they published an article from the administrations point of view, attacking the paper which at that point didn’t have any recognition by the school. The administration pointed out that as a private institution students don’t really have all the constitutional rights they would have at a public institution. Â Thankfully the english department came to the rescue and saved the satirical paper from the administrations crackdown on anything “Underground” fraternities and otherwise.
I think that it is really interesting that the paper wrote an article from the point of view of the administration. I hadn’t really considered the constitutional rights of a student at a private institution vs a public one. I’m interested to see how the administration cracks down on anything “underground” that doesn’t get picked up by a department.
I’m surprised the English department saved it. I have mixed feelings about the thing. I also know one of the writers by acquaintance and terrible flirting. I kind of wonder though, in addition to your good points, what would happen if they had taken out a copyright while still entirely underground. Could they even? And then would the school, as a private institution, still have rights to censor it? As a postscript, I think if their official name is “The Non Cur” like your title, they should change it to “Le Non Cur.”
I think the school would have the rights to censor them since they published at a private institution where students technically don’t have first amendment rights.
And from my understanding the English department recognized the importance of satirical literature and convinced the administration to mellow out.