Of Tempests, Laughing Horses, and Sacred Cows: Controlling College Student Presses between the World Wars

Abstract

This article examines the controversies involving college student publications in the 1920s and 1930s, demonstrating that restrictions on newspapers and magazines cut across institutional type and region in the era. It identifies three types of article content that frequently caused difficulty for student editors and writers (criticism of university officials, unpopular political stands, and alleged obscenity) and shows how they interacted with each other in specific campus contexts. In an era of in loco parentis, institutional administrators had almost limitless authority and little need to explain their actions in censoring papers and disciplining students. Still, two rationalizations for controlling the presses were evident: institutions viewed papers as student activities that should be managed and controlled like any other, or, as publishers of official papers and magazines, institutions claimed ultimate authority over editors and content. Though educational considerations were present in some of the situations, these cases demonstrate the desire of institutions to control their student presses in hopes of avoiding controversies that might offend legislators and potential donors. At the same time, the very act of censoring student papers could lead to the type of publicity that college presidents were hoping to avoid.