The Voice

Last semester The Colonnade hosted “Paint the Boxes,” a competition inviting all Recognized Student Organizations to paint campus newspaper boxes. The competition was generated to help enhance relationships between The Colonnade and various other on-campus organizations in the spirit of friendly competition.

We would like to take a moment to clarify any misconceptions about “Paint the Boxes.” The competition required each participating organization to follow specific guidelines to paint our newspaper stands in a manner that properly represented both The Colonnade and their organization. There was an equal opportunity offered for any interested organization to participate in the competition.

However, The Colonnade staff has received complaints about The College Republicans’ participation in the competition. We want to make it clear that it was not our intention to affiliate with any participating organization, but to allow a fair chance for all to participate in an unbiased competition.

As a part of the Georgia College & State University community, we take pride in contributing to an environment in which all student organizations have the right to exercise freedom of speech and expression. Since part of the “Paint the Boxes” competition was to allow representation of the respective organizations, we would like to stress that there was no intention to promote any political propaganda. The objective is to represent the organizations, not their philanthropies or philosophies.

Although there was a request made for The Colonnade’s stand displaying The College Republicans’ artwork to be removed from its location on campus, we denied this request on grounds of unconstitutional censorship. Freedom of the press encompasses the freedom of distribution. The College Republicans displayed artwork that represented their organization, just as all RSOs were invited to do.

We take pride in creating an opportunity for students to exercise their freedom of speech and plan to continue “Paint the Boxes” this semester. We would like to thank past participants and encourage all student organizations to participate this semester.

Sigma Alpha Iota took first place in the first competition last semester and earned a prize package, which included a free pontoon boat rental on Lake Sinclair and a $25 gift certificate to The Brick. Check upcoming issues of The Colonnade for more information on how your RSO can participate in this semester’s “Paint the Boxes” contest.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 28 2005. Filed under Our Voice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry