The front page of The Lantern today is, in many ways, a tribute to free speech.
Adorning our retrospective on the 1970 campus riots are striking photos of a chaotic campus, taken by courageous photojournalists who got between armed guards and hostile students to get the shot and tell the story.
Alongside that article, we publish a story documenting the overwhelming support that the journalistic community and others have given to Lantern photographer Alex Kotran. Thanks to that support, along with university officials who were willing to make the right decision, he will not face criminal charges.
Kotran’s saga began April 21 when he was handcuffed and detained while taking photographs of a pair of cows that escaped on campus and ran amok for hours. Police said he put himself in harm’s way and threatened to charge him with criminal trespass, even though he obeyed the police each time they told him to move.
Although he won’t face charges, a statement from a university official said his behavior will be reviewed by the Office of Student Life, which houses the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. He could still face a panel that has the power to expell him.
We are confident, though, that university officials will find no wrongdoing on Kotran’s part. Voices of sound authority across the country have spoken out to support Kotran, including former Washington Post editor Leonard Downie and Frank LoMante, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner and editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer Bill Marimow offered to donate to Kotran’s defense.
One of the strongest of Kotran’s defenders has been the Lantern’s adviser, Tom O’Hara, a veteran journalist who served as managing editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.
At a meeting of the OSU School of Communication’s Publication Committee last week, O’Hara proposed resolutions to commend Kotran, to recommend that the school offer legal counsel to Lantern staff members, and to urge police not to charge Kotran or subject him to disciplinary action.
Although none of the resolutions passed, The Lantern editorial board has unanimously agreed to support Kotran and all three proposals.
It’s disheartening for young journalists to see their colleagues barred from doing their jobs. It is vital to the future of the press to encourage reporters and photographers to pursue important information and take advantage of their rights.
That’s why The Lantern staff has thrown its support fully behind Kotran and the rights of journalists across the country.
