Editor, Adviser Resign in College Paper Battle

The editor-in-chief and the faculty adviser for the student newspaper at California State University, Dominguez Hills, have resigned in the wake of a months-long battle with student government leaders for control of the publication.

Candy Nall, the adviser, who also teaches journalism at the university system’s campus in Fullerton, said “the last straw” was the administration’s refusal to back the Bull’s Eye editors in a dispute over the number of editions that should be published this quarter.

“I cannot provide quality instruction to my students when the administration prefers to indulge the petty tyrannies of power-hungry . . . student officers, rather than defend the academic rights and freedom” of journalism students, Nall wrote in a letter of resignation last week.

Made Impossible

Editor-in-chief Nancy Harby said infighting with student officers had made it impossible for her to continue running the paper while she struggled with academic and family responsibilities.

“I’m not a quitter, so I feel really bad about leaving,” Harby said. “But my family and my studies have to come first.”

Antagonism between Bull’s Eye editors and student leaders surfaced in February when the campus senate adopted new regulations that gave the student government tighter control over the publication.

Student officers said they wanted to improve the newspaper, while Bull’s Eye editors claimed that the officers were retaliating for articles critical of their campus activities.

University President Richard Butwell stepped into the controversy late last month, revoking the new regulations pending a review of the legal issues. But Harby said tensions remained high after the student government blocked publication of the newspaper’s final edition for the quarter.