Campus newspapers found in trash

Dozens of copies of the Nov. 9 campus newspaper were found in several trash cans five hours after the papers were placed in the stands. 

 

Donald Linneman, ousted president of the Associated Students of Citrus College, was seen walking near the Technology and Engineering Building with an unidentified man who was throwing away copies of the Citrus College Clarion at approximately noon on Nov. 9. 

 

"I was asking that person not to throw away the papers because I support freedom of the press, even if it is written by crappy tabloid pseudo-journalists," Linneman said in a text message to the Clarion. 

 

The front page of the Nov. 9 issue featured a news story about the removal from office of the president, vice president and one senator on the ASCC executive board resulting from a violation of the student conduct code. 

 

The three students were caught drinking in their hotel room at an event paid for by the Student Representation Fee where everyone on the trip was required to sign a form agreeing to not consume alcohol at anytime during the event. 

 

Frank Ram, photo technician for the Clarion, witnessed the unidentified male take a bundle of papers out of a stand in front of the Technology Center and throw them into a trash can. 

 

"I took off to try and stop him," he said. "By the time I got there, the papers were already in the trash."

 

Attempts to identify and contact that person for comment were unsuccessful. 

 

When Ram and Olivia Wagner, ASCC secretary, started checking around campus, they discovered that the stands near the Campus Center, Stuffed Owl Café and Liberal Arts/Business Building had been emptied and the newspapers were in nearby trash cans. They estimated that approximately 150 of the 1,500 print runs of the Nov. 9 issue were dumped. 

 

"I thought it was ridiculous," Wagner said. "This is something that is put together for the benefit of the students, and they deserve to have access."

 

Under AB 2612 it is illegal to take more than 25 copies of a free newspaper  "to sell or barter the papers, to recycle the papers for cash or other payment, to harm a competitor or to prevent others from reading the paper," according to the website of the Student Law Press Center. 

 

"We must work to ensure that no one is able to deprive others of their First Amendment rights," said then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a statement after he signed the bill in 2006.

 

The law, which took effect in 2007, stipulates a $250 fine for a first offense and up to $500 in fines and possible jail time for repeat offenses. 

 

"For people to steal newspapers and try to sell them, recycle them or hamper with someone's First Amendment rights because they don't agree with their viewpoint, that is an important issue as well," said Morgan Crinklaw, a spokesperson for Assemblyman George Plescia, R-San Diego, who wrote the bill. 

 

"I have respect for the time and effort which goes into not only the Clarion, but many others," Wagner said. 

Anyone who witnesses criminal or suspicious activity can contact the Campus Safety Office at (626)914-8611.