Central Connecticut State University: Controversy Over Newspaper Cartoon

On September 12, 2007, The Recorder, Central Connecticut State University’s student newspaper, published a cartoon that some readers  found sexually and racially offensive, leading students and faculty to call for the suspension of the paper’s editorial board. On September 14, after the university president met with offended individuals, he urged the creation of “oversight boards” to “look further into making substantive, constructive changes” to the Recorder and suggested instituting a mandatory “cultural awareness” requirement. On September 20, FIRE wrote to the university, reminding its president of the university’s constitutional obligation to uphold freedom of the press and urging the university to cease all unconstitutional actions resulting from the cartoon’s publishing.