Members of the State Hornet staff recently attended the Associated Collegiate Press journalism conference in Washington, D.C. While there, I went up to New York City to attend a colloquium put on by the New York Times and the Anti-Defamation League for editors in chief and university presidents.

The colloquium was to discuss the types of advertisements acceptable to run in a college newspaper. Specifically, the ADL wanted to ensure that no campus newspapers run anti-Semitic or other hate group advertisements.

The ADL was especially concerned that over the past year, six universities had chosen to run an insert denying that the Holocaust happened, and 26 ran an advertisement proclaiming that history had made up the events. They brought in the New York Times to show that “professional” newspapers also felt a responsibility to filter out ads that glorify hate.

The inserts and advertisements were sent to the newspapers from the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust, run by Bradley Smith. The CODOH is also associated with the Institute for Historic Review, one of the leading agencies that denies the Holocaust.

The ADL believes that college newspapers are especially vulnerable because of their high staff turnover and a lack of policy to determine whether or not an ad is appropriate to publish.

One of the most important conclusions of the colloquium was that no one thought that college newspapers should lose editorial control of the newspaper content – including advertisements. At a time when college newspapers have been fighting for their right to publish as they see fit, it was surprising that no one wished to take the control from the newspaper.

“The ADL does not believe that it is the administrator’s role to exercise prior restraint,” said Jeffrey A. Ross, director of the ADL’s Department of Campus/Higher Education Affairs. “We suggest that they be on the lookout for these ads and be the voice of experience.”

As the editor in chief of the State Hornet, I have responsibility for all ads that run in the newspaper. It is not a perfect system because only questionable ads get brought to my attention, and some may slip through the cracks. But it is a system that works. Once a questionable ad is brought to my attention, I decide whether I want to run it. I usually seek the advice of my adviser and my editorial board, though I am not required to do so.

At the State Hornet, we are familiar with controversial ads that might have the propensity to ignite the campus community. We stand by our decisions to run the ads and do not regret any of those decisions so far. We have also been approached by many pro-life organizations requesting that we run their ads in our paper. Because this is a nationally debated topic and we would run ads for their opponents, based on the appropriateness of the content we would run their ads.

Although the State Hornet’s advertisements do not reflect the views of management, we reserve the right to reject any materials. We choose not to publish material we find objectionable or ads submitted by groups that submit blatantly fictitious information and foment hatred.

And that’s the way it should be.

Nadine Simonson is the editor in chief of the State Hornet.