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UW-Superior Drops Investigation Into Student Newspaper

Editors Have Been Under Fire For April Fools’ Day Stories

By
Danielle Kaeding/WPR

The University of Wisconsin-Superior is dropping its investigation into the campus newspaper, which has been under scrutiny for articles written in its April Fools’ Day edition.

Debbie Cheslock, graduate student and student program manager for the university’s Gender Equity and Resource Center, filed a grievance accusing the The Promethean’s editors of violating university policy by printing stories that were misogynistic, racist and anti-semitic. Mark Erb, assistant editor-in-chief, said he’s relieved the investigation was dropped. The paper’s editorial board is meeting Tuesday to review the issue.

“We’re going to talk about what could’ve been done better, what we thought we exceled at,” Erb said. “I think for next year it’s going to be a more well put together April Fools’ Day edition.”

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Last week, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the Student Press Law Center called on officials to halt the investigation.

Erb said the paper’s editorial board remains firm in its position and will not apologize for the April Fools’ Day edition. However, he feels remorse for those who were hurt by the satirical stories and by personal attacks that followed the complaint. Erb said comments on the newspaper’s Facebook page have been getting out of hand.

“I would prefer that we could keep this to an educated discussion as opposed to just yelling at each other,” he said.

Cheslock wrote in an email that she’s been called a “fascist harridan” and “censorious imbecile” on the The Promethean’s Facebook page.

“Honestly, it is disheartening that this has continued but I suppose it’s all in the name of free speech, so I guess I need to ‘suck it up’ and ignore the fact that it hurts,” Cheslock wrote. “I would like everyone to go back to having respectful dialogue instead of resorting to micro-aggressions, name calling and threats … which is what my university had before April 1 of this year.”

Cheslock said the administration was not allowed to contact her regarding the decision to drop the investigation. A university spokesman said officials met with students involved in the grievance and confirmed the investigation is no longer moving forward, but couldn’t provide further specifics.