Freedom Folks: U of I: Just Say Yes to Terrorism

The editor in chief of a student-led newspaper serving the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been suspended after printing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that, when published in Europe, enraged Muslims and led to violent protests in the Middle East and Asia.

Editor Acton Gorton and his opinions editor, Chuck Prochaska, were relieved of their duties at The Daily Illini on Tuesday while a task force investigates "the internal decision-making and communication" that led to the publishing of the cartoons, according to a statement by the newspaper's publisher and general manager, Mary Cory.

Way to go, U of I. You wouldn't want to promote, encourage, and support freedom of speech in an environment of so-called higher education, now would you?

"This is not a publicity stunt, and this wasn't an easy decision," said Gorton.

Gorton's decision, however, caused an uproar in the local Muslim community and rankled other Illini staff members after the paper was deluged with negative letters and e-mails.

Just as the local community had the right to protest, the paper had the right to publish those cartoons. I wish more would do so -- not to upset people or insult them, but to press and present the fact that someone taking offense at something is not a reason to not publish, anymore than it's a reason to burn and destroy flags, cars, embassies and businesses.

By not applauding, or even supporting, your editors' decision, you hand a victory to these people:

Then, on Monday, the paper ran an editorial apologizing for Gorton's decision and called the move "a blatant abuse of power" by a "renegade editor who firmly believes that his will is also the will of the paper."