Let the foul-mouthed speak!

As a college student, I'm well aware that the common ideology of my peers tends to lean a little left. With many of our professors tending to be the same way and constantly learning about the mistakes of the presidential administration in class and in the news, it comes as little surprise. College students are also the least likely to keep these views hidden, and this has currently become an issue at Colorado State University.

According to an article in The Coloradoan, the Fort Collins university's student newspaper, The Collegian, is currently under fire for printing an editorial with the title, "Taser This . . . F--- Bush", which claimed to express the views of the Collegian Editorial Board, led by student editor-in-chief, David McSwane. The paper claims that they have such a right to print the material since it is their unanimous opinion and because they are editorially independent. The school though, claims some power of control, using the 10-member faculty-student Board of Student Communications to decide whether McSwane should be fired. The leader of this group, Jeff Browne, director of student media, says that they will "investigate the decision-making process" to understand why the editorial title came to print.

While Colorado State University has reason to be scornful of the title due to the high-standing reputation of the school and The Collegian, I believe that college students are mature enough to put out whatever material they believe best expresses their views. I especially believe that this goes for anything that goes on the editorial page. College, to me, is supposed to be a time when opinions and ideas are allowed to come forth, no-holds-barred.

The university may be concerned because of McSwane's past journalistic experiences, which included an incident that garnered national attention while he was still a high school student. Still, the envelope needs to be pushed and there is no better place than the academic world for this to occur. While the sophistication of The Collegian's staff may come into question, their views should still be respected and their readers should be given the opportunity to respond.