Whether The Daily Collegian should have run an anti-reparations advertisement has been a widely debated subject in the Penn State community.

The ad in general has also received national attention. Recently, conservative activist David Horowitz sent the advertisement, which argues reparations for slavery are wrong and racist, to 50 college newspapers. Ten newspapers ran the advertisement; the Collegian did not. Giving her reasons for rejecting the advertisement, Business Manager Francine Sadiky said: "The Daily Collegian has the right to accept and object all advertising that comes into question."

Several people claim that the Collegian's refusal to run the ad is a violation of the First Amendment and therefore hypocritical, given the Collegian's usual passionate stance for free speech and against censorship and suppression.

What those people do not understand, however, is that this is not an issue of free speech; rather, it is an issue of a newspaper's business division's right to reject an advertisement that does not comply to its policies and guidelines. According to Collegian bylaws: "The news division and the business division are separate. The roles of the editor in chief and the business manager do not overlap. The business manager does not influence news content and coverage. The editor does not influence advertising content or acceptance."

A newspaper is not solely a medium for news and information; it is also a business. As such, it reserves the right to runs its business as any other company in a free market would and adhere to the policies and guidelines that the business manager sets in order to promote the financial health of the organization. Therefore, the rejection of the advertisement is not a case of editorial suppression. As far as the Collegian is concerned, it is a case about a business manager's right to accept or reject a paid advertisement.

With that said, it is the role of the Collegian's news division, and especially its editorial department, to provide a forum for discussion on this topic. Therefore, we encourage those who have concerns or questions to continue writing them in the forms of letters to the editor.