Editor’s note: this column uses an explicit term. It is used because it is essential to this column.

On Sept. 21, the editorial board of the Colorado State University student newspaper decided that they’d just about had enough.

“Taser this… FUCK BUSH,” they declared. Those four words, printed in massive text, were placed right at the top of the “The Rocky Mountain Collegian” opinion page, a page not at all unlike this one.

Obviously attention-grabbing stuff – the editorial, which was a comment on a taser incident at the University of Florida days before, attempted to stir dialogue about freedom of speech. Frankly, it was a misguided way of going about it.

Granted, the statement was guaranteed to stir folks up. But I’ve heard more controversial ideas spewed by 14-year-olds. And they were probably more articulate.

That’s precisely the problem here. If it seems that way, it’s because the masterminds behind the editorial wrapped their First Amendment commentary in a coat so transparent, anyone giving a careless glance could only see the naked lack of professionalism within.

The fallout from that lack of professionalism was more notable than the F-bomb itself. Take for instance the consequences faced by The Rocky Mountain Collegian: Following an explosion of media coverage, the paper lost a projected $50,000 in advertising revenue, was forced to make budget cuts and was inundated with conservatives looking to retaliate. Moreover, the editorial inspired the campus’ branch of College Republicans to produce a competing newspaper to address the perceived political bias of “The Collegiate.”

Naturally, the affair also nearly resulted in the firing of editor in chief J. David McSwane. A board of advisers admonished the editor, deciding that the piece “was an expression of opinion” protected by first amendment rights. However, according to “Collegian” coverage of the Oct. 4 decision, the board also chided McSwane for what they deemed, “unprofessional and unethical action.”

Given new avenues of media expression for both professionals and amateurs, this point seems especially relevant. More and more, the difference between the average blogger on the street and a respected journalist is an intense personal scrutiny and accountability. Simply, professionalism in journalism comes a lot harder than it goes.

Student journalists are roughly thrown in between. Let me tell you, enough folks already write-off student journalism as “playtime journalism.” If the folks at The Rocky Mountain Collegian were taken lightly before, the stunt probably did no favors for its public standing.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t disagree with the motives behind their editorial or the opinion held therein. Bush can suck an egg as far as I’m concerned and the excessive force leveled on Andrew Meyers, the University of Florida student who inspired the piece, is hard to defend. If one is going to tackle either issue in a column though, at least show effort to come up with something more compelling than an insult bandied by high schoolers and intellectually-stunted politicos.

Being an incendiary journalist just isn’t enough. Duty and purpose must come before controversy. We know it’s effective to pull heartstrings and poke at touchy spots. But we’re not doing our job if we do those things only because we know they provoke reaction. The power wof the press compels us to find justifiable, ethically and professionally sound reasoning to back up our crusades.

At best, the “Collegian” F-bomb was a childish attempt to encourage freedom of speech. At worse, it was an abuse of their constitutionally-protected platform. Have no doubt; their actions were well within rights. Common sense would have dictated a little self restraint, though.

Paul Rios can be reached at [email protected].