No Chronicle editorial board has approached the ugly gray cloud hanging over this newspaper since it arose three and a half years ago. We don’t know if previous boards were afraid of the fallout, or if there were other parties involved, but this editorial board isn’t scared. We are writing now to dispel a rumor.

The rumor still whispered around campus is that the Chronicle is prior reviewed by somebody. That “somebody” varies depending on which rumor is heard. Some say it’s our media adviser, currently Lila Carney, formerly Michael Riecke, while other uninformed students and faculty say it’s Assistant Dean and Director of the Student Center Daniel Brown, another administrator, or even President John Lahey.

These rumors are fallacies. All fallacies.

We have the right to free speech here as a media organization. There is no censorship from any level on the work produced by students for this paper.

What would a prior-reviewed university newspaper look like, anyway? Sounds more like an admissions brochure to us. This university doesn’t use its multi-million dollar communications school to teach students how to produce admissions brochures. No. It’s used to teach students the values and ethics of journalism and prepare them for entering a competitive job market. Ask any journalism professional, and not one will tell you prior review does any good for a newspaper.

We can tell you, though, that in the past the university prohibited the Chronicle from posting content to its website before it went to print. That restriction has long been abolished. No such rule exists or is enforced today in any way, shape or form.