Wednesday, Feb. 19, 1997

University graduate protests censorship by Daily Collegian

By KELLY RUOFF
Collegian Staff Writer

Positioned at the entryway to James Building, Karl Streidieck passed out fliers yesterday and leaned against a large blue and red sign that read "Censorship at PSU: Read what the Collegian censor doesn't want you to see."

Karl Streidieck protests outside the Daily Collegian, 123 S. Burrowes St. yesterday afternoon. The Daily Collegian chose not to run his advertisement or his letter to the editor about Committee for Open Debate On the Holocaust (CODOH). (Collegian Photo / Galen A. Lentz - click for full size image)

Streidieck, a 1966 University graduate, protested The Daily Collegian office after it refused to run his advertisement as well as a letter to the editor about the Committee for Open Debate On the Holocaust (CODOH).

"It's about the only avenue I've got left," he said.

The letter directed attention to CODOH's main controversial argument of "whether the Germans did or did not employ homicidal gassing chambers to kill millions of European Jews in a State sponsored program of genocide."

The letter emphasized Smith's and fellow revisionists' philosophy that their viewpoint of the events of the Holocaust are often underrepresented.

This is not the first time Streidieck has attempted to place an advertisement in the Collegian. In the Feb. 2, 1994 issue of the Collegian, an advertisement questioning what proof the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum had of homicidal gassing chambers was run in the paper.

Committee for Open Debate On the Holocaust (CODOH)

Holocaust Memorial Center

Photographs from Auschwitz/Birkenau

Nizkor Project

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Following the publication of the advertisement, the University community reacted by holding a rally on the steps of Pattee in protest of the Collegian's advertisement policy. Speakers at the rally questioned the Collegian's ethics about deciding to run the advertisement.

Now, Streidieck is once again attempting to draw readership to the revisionist philosophies, but this time he was denied the chance, he said.

"(The Collegian) is not allowing any other viewpoints to be seen by the readers of the Collegian," he said. "The Collegian has shut out open discussion on this controversy. The grounds I've been given is that it's hate speech and I disagree with that."

Collegian Business Manager Joanne Charyton said there are certain standards the Collegian must uphold.

"I didn't feel the content was appropriate for our paper," she said. "As the business manager, I have to take into consideration all of the possible repercussions from something like this. Based on the fact that I was here when it ran before, I knew I wasn't going to run it."

Collegian editor in chief Jason Alt said letters to the editor are run on the basis of timeliness, relevance and space constraints.

"We never refuse to run a letter because an editor or group of editors disagrees with the point the writer is making," he said.

Despite the fact that his philosophies were not published in the paper, Streidieck drew attention from some students throughout the afternoon.

"I saw this big thing out in front and I thought, 'What's going on?' " Eric Strassman (sophomore-microbiology) said. "Then I saw the word Holocaust. I'm Jewish. I always stop when I see the word Holocaust."