A group of students at Macon State College have started an independent newspaper, The Student Free Press, in place of the college’s newspaper The Matrix which is on hiatus this fall. This past May The Matrix’s the editorial board resigned citing “administrative bureaucracy, unclear policy changes—some that are clearly censorship—and the appointment of a Publications Coordinator who has exercised some poor choices.” The paper’s staff and the new Publications Coordinator, Ray Lightner, had some significant personality clashes, but tensions came to a head over Lightner's authority to approve the spending of Matrix funds. Specifically, Lightner refused to approve a proposal to spend advertising money on newspaper racks to increase on-and-off-campus circulation, stating that he felt the paper was “not good enough.” The Matrix editor-in-chief, Jenny Murr, consulted the Student Press Law Center and found that this constituted content-driven censorship. Tensions rose, finally leading to her resignation. She and other members of the staff hoped to return to the paper in the fall as writers, but on August 11 Lightner announced that The Matrix would be on indefinite hiatus while the college established a set of student media bylaws. The new bylaws will cover the newspaper, the television station and the literary magazine, but the newspaper is the only student media organization that was put on hiatus. College officials claim this move will help avoid future confusion and provide protection for students, and said they expect The Matrix to begin printing again mid-term. After hearing about the postponement, and fearing that the college’s move was intended to silence the students’ voices, Murr and a handful of other students launched the Student Free Press.

More from the Student Press Law Center
Jenny Murr's Letter of Resignation
More from the Student Press Law Center
The Student Free Press