The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 17, Ed. 1, Friday, January 30, 1981 Page: 2 of 27
twenty seven pages : illus. ; page 15 x 11 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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Judge Boone's gag order put prior restraint on Optimist
Last semester the Optimist became the first
university newspaper in the United States to be
brought under the restraint of a judge's gag
order. We believe that's a legal precedent of
some importance.
Student newspapers at private universities
operate in a legal twilight zone never quite sure
where they stand when questions of censorship
or other First Amendment concerns arise.
When District Judge Pat Boone ordered ACU
and the relatives of F.O. Masten not to say a
word about their dispute over the handwritten
will that left Masten's $14 million dollar estate to
the school he made it clear that the gag order
was to strictly observed. President John
Stevens said he couldn't even admit that the
case existed.
In this atmosphere ACU's attorneys decided
the gag order could be interpreted to include the
Optimist
When the attorneys asked the judge about
this he told them he hadn't even thought about
the campus newspaper when he issued the
order. But now that they mentioned it he said
the Optimist would be included.
This interpretation of the gag order was
transmitted to the Optimist in a call from school
attorney Gaston Welbom one hour before our
Dec. 12 edition was scheduled to go to press with
a page one story updating the Masten case.
The story must not run Welborn said.
President John Stevens reinforced this
ultimatum in a personal visit to the Optimist
office. He was apologetic but his lawyers told
him that was the way it had to be he said.
Hold on to that story of yours he told us
you'll be able to run it one of these days.
Eventually in our Jan. 16 issue the story did
appear after Stevens insisted that ACU's at-
torneys convince Judge Boone of our need to
run the Masten story.
We aren't content with the fact that we were
finally able to run our story. We believe the
judge overstepped his authority in applying the
gag order to the Optimist. Simply telling a
newspaper in advance that it cannot publish a
story constitutes prior restraint.
And as Justice Brennan wrote in a 1963
Supreme Court decision "Any system of prior
restraint comes to this Court bearing a heavy
presumption against its constitutional
validity."
The question is moot now that the gag order
has been lifted but we honestly believe that
preventing the Optimist from running the
Masten story in December was un-
constitutional. We realize that our status as a student
newspaper published under the authority of the
administration of a private university clouds
the issue somewhat but we must insist that we
can no more be denied our First Amendment
rights than can a metropolitan daily.
Stevens' openmindedness leads to $5000 campaign donation
We usually admire people who stand by their
positions in the face of stiff opposition. But a
more admirable quality is the willingness to
change your stance when necessary.
Congratulations must be extended to
President Stevens for having enough open-
mindedness to let students decide whether or
not to donate money from Sing Song to the
Spring Break Campaigns.
Earlier this year Stevens let it be known that
only on-campus projects to improve the school's
facilities would be approved to receive money
from Sing Song.
Apparently several people approached him
privately and convinced him that many if not
most students disagreed with eliminating a
donation to the evangelism effort as a possible
Sing Song project.
The easiest course for Dr. Stevens probably
would have been to assert his authority and
say "I've already made up my mind on the
issue. That's the way it is."
Students should be thankful that ACU has an
administrator who says what he thinks but
isn't too proud to say so when he has second
thoughts.
As a result of the president's openmind-
edness Sing Song participants were able last
weekend to vote $5000 to the Spring Break
Campaigns as their first choice of projects.
Removing newspapers not an acceptable remedy for stealing
Newspaper vending machines containing the
Abilene Reporter-News Dallas Times-Herald
and Dallas Morning News were removed from
the Campus Center during the Christmas
break. So many students stole papers last fall
that the newspaper distributors lost money.
This says rotten things about the supposedly
Christian students of this school. If you want to
show your Christianity to a newspaper
distributor stealing his newspapers isn't a good
GOo Optimist
Doug Mendenhall
EDITOR
i Maggie Nelson
FEATURES EDITOR- - -
Linde Thompson
ASST FEATURES EDITOR
Sherilyn Greer
CARTOONIST
Kenny Jones
CARTOONIST
Rodney Got ri man
PHOTOGRAPHER
Robin Ward
MANAGING EDITOR
David Ramsey
SPORTS EDITOR -
Mark Evje
ASS T SPORTS EDITOR
Kent Barnett
ADVERTISNG
Susan Mitchell
AD PRODUCTION
Dr. Charlie Marler
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way to go about it.
Just as rotten as the thievery itself is the
result. At a university with more than 4000
students the only newspapers on campus
available to students are the single copies in
Brown Library.
That shouldn't be.
Part of the atmosphere of an institute ot
higher learning should be discussion of the
events of the day. That discussion is hampered
when students can't easily lay their hands on a
newspaper.
Somehow newspapers must be made
available on this campus. The most obvious
answer is to have either the Bookstore or the
Campus Center desk sell them.
This would mean some extra work for
someone and it might not be profitable. But
keeping newspapers in the hands of students is
important enough to warrant some extra effort.
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A memorable day for all Christian universities:
The theft-proof newspaper dispenser.
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 17, Ed. 1, Friday, January 30, 1981, newspaper, January 30, 1981; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth99573/m1/2/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.