Copies of CSUN Paper Stolen in Political Caper

In an election-day caper reminiscent of old-time, big-city politics, almost the entire run of Cal State Northridge’s student newspaper was stolen, thrown in trash dumpsters, and replaced in some distribution bins with flyers touting Keith Weaver, a candidate for student body president, campus officials said.

After nearly all of Tuesday’s edition disappeared, the Daily Sundial reprinted that edition Wednesday, with the headline “CENSORED!” stripped across the top--only to have much of that edition stolen as well.

Now mysteriously referred to as the “Stolen Edition,” the disappearing paper contains an editorial endorsing Weaver’s opponent, candidate Fabio Escobar. The election was held on Tuesday and Wednesday to give part-time students a chance to vote.

“The bins are empty,” said Paul Bond, the paper’s editor in chief. “This is costing the journalism department a lot of money, and we’re taking this quite seriously.”

The university’s journalism department spent about $500 to produce Tuesday’s edition, and the paper contained several hundred dollars’ worth of advertising, Bond said. About 7,000 of the 9,000 copies of the paper were taken, he said.

Witnesses on Tuesday spotted two women removing newspapers from distribution bins, and two men were later seen filling the bins with “Keith Weaver for AS President” flyers, campus police said. About 500 copies of the paper were later found in a trash dumpster, smothered with tomato sauce, and other copies were found in trash cans and dumpsters throughout the campus. Weaver was unavailable for comment.

The mystery continued Wednesday morning, when university employees witnessed a woman take newspapers from the bins, place them inside her car and drive away, according to Lt. Michael Sugar of the State University Police. She appeared to be one of the women who cleaned out the bins Tuesday and was photographed by the Daily Sundial.

“She may be a supporter of one of the candidates who was not supported by the newspaper,” Sugar said.

University police are keeping a vigil over all newspaper bins, trying to catch the culprits in the act--but there is little they can do, even if they are successful.

Removing free newspapers from a distribution bin is not illegal in Los Angeles, even if a person takes them all, according to the city attorney’s office, Sugar said. It is, however, a violation of the university’s student code of conduct, and is punishable by suspension and other disciplinary action, he said.

Most Cal State Northridge students on Wednesday didn’t seem to care what happened to the Sundial, but they thought removing the papers was infantile.

“The publicity of this is probably going to sway voters to the other candidate,” said Mauricette Mancini, 27, a junior. “I think it was very stupid.”

The controversy did, however, entice more students to read the paper--if they could locate a copy.

“In one respect, these people are creating more demand for the Sundial,” Bond said. “People are very curious about what would make a group of people so anxious.”