Distribution of student 'zine' controversial

By Nate Swinton

A Santa Clara student publication has ignited much controversy in Dunne Residence Hall.

Collateral Damage, a politically radical "zine" published by Santa Clara sophomores Ryan Dodd and Blair Thedinger, has upset some residents of the building and was removed from the dorm's bathrooms and hallways after being improperly posted.

Those who support the bimonthly publication, however, argue that their freedom of speech is being imposed upon.

"That a university-sponsored building would actually ban a publication because a few people didn't like what it said - it's amazing to me that at our institution of higher learning, people are that immature," Thedinger said.

Thedinger said Dunne Resident Director Cathy Justl informed him two weeks ago that Collateral Damage could not be posted in Dunne because it wrongly claimed to be sponsored by Walsh (Unity) Residence Hall, because of the use of inappropriate language and because some students complained that it was "un-American."

"We thought free speech was American," Thedinger said.

Justl, however, denied any charges of censorship. "[Removing the posted publication] had nothing to do in any way with censoring the material, it was just the manner by which it was displayed."

Housing and Residence Life policies only allow material advertising on-campus or Santa Clara-sponsored events to be posted, Dunne Assistant Resident Director Mark Alejandro said. No materials with political messages are allowed to be posted.

Justl said this point was the driving factor in her decision to ask the Dunne resident assistants to remove Collateral Damage.

"Residents were partially upset because they agreed with it and it was fine or it angered them and they wanted a way to respond," she said. "It was adding fuel to the fire and everyone wanted to post materials about their opinions. I was like, 'time out, we need a better way to do this.'"

Housing also had the right to remove issues of Collateral Damage posted in public spaces such as the hallways or bathrooms since the Housing and Residence Life office did not approve them.

Justl said this was another reason for removing the zine.

"We had no problem with it being here, it just seemed shady and behind the scenes, like 'let's not tell anyone we're doing this,'" Justl said.

For co-founder Dodd, that was not the intent of the publication. Dodd said the zine, which is sponsored by Santa Clarans for Social Justice and the Green Club, was created largely in response to the overwhelming support of the United States' bombing campaign in Afghanistan.

"We wanted to get a different voice heard that doesn't always get heard," Dodd said.

Dodd said that all writers are encouraged to submit material regardless of political beliefs. He added Collateral Damage's tendency to criticize the government is in line with the "spirit of democracy."

Junior Evan Hughes, a frequent contributor to the zine, agreed.

"That's the whole point of democracy - questioning the powers that be," he said. "This is our way of voicing our opinion so we can make our voice be heard."

Hughes disagreed with the actions taken by the Dunne residential staff and noted that the publication has been distributed in McLaughlin, Unity and Sobrato Residence Halls without any complaints.

"Housing policies in general are not conducive to dialogue and allowing voices to be heard," Hughes said. "The staff of Dunne is overreacting and I think they made a mistake."

Justl and Thedinger are currently working on holding an open forum to encourage discussion about Collateral Damage, the issues it raises and how students can respond to articles.

Justl said the Dunne staff is allowing Collateral Damage to be stacked by the service desk for students to pick up and is promoting the publication's existence.

"It's something to be more proud of, not something we're trying to hide," Justl said.

Thedinger said the controversy surrounding Collateral Damage has made him more determined to make the publication be known.

"It makes me believe that more than ever there's a need for it to be circulated," he said.