Foul-penned editor to lead CSU paper until May

John C. Ensslin

Thursday, November 29, 2007

McSwane says retaining his post shows good work.

The Colorado State University student editor whose use of profanity in an editorial ignited a controversy in September will keep his job for another semester.

The Board of Student Communications voted Tuesday to retain J. David McSwane as editor-in-chief of The Rocky Mountain Collegian though May 2008, according to Jessica Gordon, a technical-journalism student and president of the board.

Gordon declined to say how the board voted but added, "there were definitely mixed emotions across the board."

McSwane, who took over as Collegian editor in May , said the decision was based not just on the editorial but on his overall job performance.

"I think it goes to show that we're doing good work," McSwane said. He said life at the paper has calmed down since the controversy, which cost about $50,000 in advertising and resulted in a 10 percent pay cut for the paper's staff.

In the four-word Sept. 21 editorial, McSwane wrote, "Taser this . . . F--- Bush." It was written in response to an incident in Florida in which a student was shocked with a Taser during a speech by U.S. Sen. John Kerry.

In October the board admonished McSwane for using profanity in the editorial.