Local News in Brief : Student-Run Paper Back in Business

A feisty student-run newspaper shut down three weeks ago by the student government at Cal State Long Beach after publishing a satirical section containing erotic drawings has been revived by order of a student judiciary committee.

“Right now, I’m ecstatically happy that we’re open for business again,” said Gary Stark, editor of the Union newspaper founded 10 years ago by student government as an alternative to the newspaper run by the university’s journalism department.

In shutting down the paper, the student senate had argued that it no longer served the needs or conformed to the tastes of the students whose fees paid for its publication. Union staff members, on the other hand, characterized the closure as a violation of their rights of free expression and a retaliation for past criticisms.

The student judiciary decision did not address those issues, overturning the senate’s action instead on the procedural grounds that it had been taken without consulting a publications board set up for the purpose.

“I’m a little surprised,” said student senate President Roger Thompson, adding that no decision had yet been made on whether the ruling will be appealed.