Freedom of the Press, Fountainhead editor expelled
This article describes the expulsion of Robert Thonen, Fountainhead editor. This and other sources of East Carolina University history are available to researchers in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is: Mathur, Ruchi. "Freedom of the Press," Greenville Independent, June 1994.
A look back at the 1971 expulsion of an ECU student for actions he took as the Editor of the school newspaper
Dealing with ethics in journalism can become difficult at times, as before anything else, the press is closely tied into the wishes of the reader.
For some journalists deciding on what you think is right, what wouldn’t offend your readers and how to get your point across can be tough when there is a one-sided view on an issue. And for some journalists, ethical decisions don’t cross their minds.
These ethical dilemmas came into the spotlight during the East Carolina University academic year of 1969-1970. Robert Thonen was editor-in-chief of The Fountainhead, the student newspaper now known as The East Carolinian. The major controversy on campus at this time was the rules for visitation among males and females on campus. Students wanted visitation privileges, as during that time, females were not to go on College Hill, where all the male dormitories were.
The Men’s Residence Council (MRC) wanted to use the power we granted to them by their constitution that stated: "The MRC shall have the power to legislate rules and regulations for the men’s dormitories," according to original articles in The Fountainhead. But, the power that they were supposed to have was bypassed and ignored by the adminstration.
This caused conflict between students and administration.
Around this time, Robert Thonen wrote an article about the situation, and was undeniably expressing his opinion-especially when he stated, "Fuck You, Leo" in his article. Thonen was referring to the President of ECU at the time, Leo Jenkins, who was strongly against the visitation issue.
The opposite views of students and faculty led to more and moreconflict, and President Leo Jenkins had Thonen expelled for the offense he took from Thonen’sarticle.
The Fountainhead's March 8, 1971 issue states: "The MRC’s main contention is that visitation is a right, not a privilege. The administration takes an opposing stance."
March 9, 1971 the MRC held a rally on the mall (west side of ECU campus) which began around 2:30p.m.
Five hundred students boycotted, didn’t go to class and waited for the decision from the ECU Board of Trustees, despite the 50-degree weather.
The MRC representatives announced that the Board of Trustees turned the matter over to Jenkins, according to March 16, 1971’s publication.
March 30, 1971 The Fountainhead stated: "The SGA Legislature declared men’s dormitories open in keeping with the MRC visitation proposal in a resolution offered Monday." The MRC visitation proposal was for the hours of 12 noon until curfew, seven days a week.
Although that controversy had come to an end, somewhat, the case of Thonen vs. ECU didn’t.
Thonen was expelled and decided to take the University to court because they violated his freedom of the press. Student publications have First Amendment rights.
"Students were more outspoken and rebellious during this time," says a former Fountainhead writer. "The 70’s were wild, everyone was carefree."
Although Thonen, editor-in-chief, may have not thought about ethical values, he believed that stating his opinion was maintaining his policy of having the paper open to all viewpoints, even those with which he disagrees.
In his article "Action is simple and clear," Thonen stated that he recognized that there were individuals who were offended by the use of such language and that they had attempted to keep the use of four letter words to a minimum.
But Thonen, in the same article also stated: "In those cases where the author feels the words in question are necessary to his point we have prefaced the article with notification that the piece contains possibly objectionable material."
Thonen suggested that since his editiorial policy was that no material be subject to censorship, the only ethical alternative open would be to resign and make way for another person who didn’t have the same views.
"The case of Thonen vs. ECU took a while, and Thonen was reinstated in school, but not until about 10 years later. Thonen never returned back to ECU," says the former Fountainhead writer. "The case handed down a national precedent for student newspapers."
After three years of studying the campus press, the Commission on the Freedoms and Responsibilities of the College Student Press in America issued draft recommendations, "Six Guidelines to a Free and Responsible Student Press In America." A publication of The Fountainhead listed the guidelines:
- A student press that is relevant to its campus makes service its ideal purpose.
- A self-regulated student press is a free student press.
- A responsible student press should reasonably be expected to maintain a level of professional performance and ethics pertinent to its purpose and restricted only by its resources.
- Financial independence is a cornerstone of true freedom and responsibility of the student press.
- The role of the student press advisor is to help students to transfer their theories to practice.
- The free student press is free to all who have something worth saying.
