2008 Woodie Awards
Theft of 2,400 'Acorn's upsets campus
Michelle Caffrey
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: News
Students going to brunch in the Commons last Saturday reached for their weekly Acorn only to find the wire stand empty.
Over 2000 copies of the Feb. 1 edition were stolen from out front of the Acorn office behind the University Center sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, Editor in Chief Jackie Ryan ('08) said.
The papers are normally delivered by Friday night, but a miscommunication and poor weather prevented them from being delivered until Saturday morning, Ryan said.
"I got a call from [Executive Editor Katie Chambers] Saturday morning saying 42 of 48 stacks were gone," Ryan said. Seven stacks were found by Public Safety officers in a trash can behind the Townhouses, but were destroyed by rain. On Tuesday afternoon, six stacks were returned in cardboard boxes in front of the Acorn office. The rest of the stacks are unaccounted for, Ryan said.
The issue contained a story about the arrest of a student on campus for multiple drug charges, and multiple members of The Acorn staff have been harassed in the past week, Ryan said. "To work so hard, and have the entire paper disappear because of one article is so frustrating," Ryan said. "Certain students don't understand the duty we have to inform the community."
Public Safety has received several anonymous calls with information, Chief of Public Safety Tom Evans said. Evans told The Daily Record that they are following several leads. Ryan made the decision to keep the issue within the Drew community, and trusts the administration to follow through on the investigation. To publish 2400 copies costs The Acorn $936 a week.
The administration sympathized with the censorship of the main campus publication. "We want to protect a free press," University President Bob Weisbuch said.
In addition, members of the staff have been harassed on campus for the article. "It's not unheard of for The Acorn to be stolen, but to be angry at us for reporting the news is ridiculous," Ryan said. "The way people reacted is really frustrating."
In order to get the issue out to the public, Ryan made the decision to reprint 1500 copies for $590. They were delivered Tuesday afternoon and were placed in newsstands by Tuesday night.
Over 2000 copies of the Feb. 1 edition were stolen from out front of the Acorn office behind the University Center sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, Editor in Chief Jackie Ryan ('08) said.
The papers are normally delivered by Friday night, but a miscommunication and poor weather prevented them from being delivered until Saturday morning, Ryan said.
"I got a call from [Executive Editor Katie Chambers] Saturday morning saying 42 of 48 stacks were gone," Ryan said. Seven stacks were found by Public Safety officers in a trash can behind the Townhouses, but were destroyed by rain. On Tuesday afternoon, six stacks were returned in cardboard boxes in front of the Acorn office. The rest of the stacks are unaccounted for, Ryan said.
The issue contained a story about the arrest of a student on campus for multiple drug charges, and multiple members of The Acorn staff have been harassed in the past week, Ryan said. "To work so hard, and have the entire paper disappear because of one article is so frustrating," Ryan said. "Certain students don't understand the duty we have to inform the community."
Public Safety has received several anonymous calls with information, Chief of Public Safety Tom Evans said. Evans told The Daily Record that they are following several leads. Ryan made the decision to keep the issue within the Drew community, and trusts the administration to follow through on the investigation. To publish 2400 copies costs The Acorn $936 a week.
The administration sympathized with the censorship of the main campus publication. "We want to protect a free press," University President Bob Weisbuch said.
In addition, members of the staff have been harassed on campus for the article. "It's not unheard of for The Acorn to be stolen, but to be angry at us for reporting the news is ridiculous," Ryan said. "The way people reacted is really frustrating."
In order to get the issue out to the public, Ryan made the decision to reprint 1500 copies for $590. They were delivered Tuesday afternoon and were placed in newsstands by Tuesday night.
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