Board votes to admonish, not fire CSU newspaper editor

FORT COLLINS – The Colorado State University Board of Student Communications voted Thursday to admonish the editor of the school newspaper after he decided to publish an editorial with the words "F--- Bush."

The board voted to admonish Rocky Mountain Collegian Editor J. David McSwane after meeting with him on Thursday for publishing the editorial on September 21. The full message in the editorial read: "Taser this... F--- Bush."

9NEWS repeatedly asked if McSwane was actually fired, but the board would only say that their statement speaks for itself.

"By definition the September 21st editorial was an expression of opinion which we regard as protected by the first amendment," said Jim Landers, the chairman of the CSU Board of Student Communications. "As editor in chief of the Collegian, you are ultimately responsible for publication. The editor has caused harm to the Collegian, student media and the university community. It is our judgment that your decision was unethical and unprofessional."

The board admonished McSwane for violations of two standards specified by the manual. The board members say he violated the code of ethics for student media at CSU, specifically Item 29: Profane, Vulgar Words, Explicit Sexual Language, subset, "Profane and vulgar words are not acceptable for opinion writing."

The board says he also violated the Rocky Mountain Collegian Code of Ethics, specifically Item 6: Be Professional, subset, "Profane and vulgar words are not acceptable for opinion writing."

The board also instructed McSwane to read the manual for how to proceed with an appeal.

The closed hearing began at 4:30 p.m. on the CSU campus, but the board did not issue it's decision until 8:45 p.m.

The board could have also voted to either fire McSwane or take no action in the matter.

The board consists of six CSU students and three faculty members. They decided after last week's public hearing on the matter, that the complaints against McSwane had merit and that he must appear at Thursday's formal hearing.

Just before last week's hearing, McSwane hired attorney David Lane. Lane also represents former University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill.

Student advertising representatives at the Collegian have said the student-run newspaper lost tens of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue in the days after the editorial was published.

(Editor's note: 9NEWS initially erroneously reported that McSwane was fired, but then got a clarification in the matter.)