When I was an undergrad at Bucknell, one of the things that frustrated me was that, for all the talk of the importance of tolerance and diversity, there didn’t seem to be very much tolerance for diverse viewpoints.

I was involved in publishing an opinion and commentary newspaper at Bucknell, and on multiple occasions, entire stacks of our free paper were lifted wholesale from their distribution points. We knew it was theft because, several times, people reported seeing piles of unread copies dumped in trash and recycling bins around campus. Back then, the school took no action to try to counteract these crimes against free thought.

Recently, the students who publish the school’s conservative paper, The Counterweight, noticed that their publication was also confiscated from points around campus. It seems Bucknell’s current administration is taking this sort of thing more seriously these days.

Here’s an e-mail sent to the Bucknell community from Brian C. Mitchell, the university’s president:

From: Brian C. Mitchell
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 15:35
To: Bucknell Faculty Staff and Students
Subject: [CAMPUS:5878] Removal of The Counterweight from Campus Newsstands
Importance: High

Dear Member of the Bucknell University Community:

Last week, most of the supply of the latest issue of The Counterweight was taken from the campus distribution racks. This act of apparent theft and harassment undermines the right of The Counterweight, and in fact of all student publications, to express their views. In addition, this publication is printed with resources provided via Bucknell Student Government and is the result of the hard work of Bucknell students.

Our Department of Public Safety is now investigating this incident, and I write to request your assistance in identifying those responsible. Should you have any related information, I ask that you complete this anonymous tip form at [URL removed] or contact Public Safety at 7-3333. You need not provide any personally identifiable information.

We appreciate any knowledge you can provide to assist in this investigation and your helping to uphold the rights of our student publications.

Sincerely,

Brian C. Mitchell
President

Good for President Mitchell to recognize the gravity of these thefts and for trying to do something about it.

Considering that the administration under the school’s previous president was at times quite antagonistic towards The Counterweight, I’m glad to see that Bucknell seems to be moving in the right direction.