University of Virginia Library

Mississippi Trustees
Vote Faculty Censors

Reprinted with permission from
The New York Times.

JACKSON, Miss., Nov. 21 —
Mississippi's Board of Trustees of
Institutions of Higher Learning said
today it would require faculty
editors to approve all campus
publications in the state after the
Mississippi State University campus
newspaper last week republished a
controversial "God is dead" article
that had first appeared in 1967.

The board expressed "shock and
disappointment" over the
reprinting in The Mississippi State
University Reflector of the "Death
of God" article that was written
three years ago by Dr. Keith
Richardson, which appeared in
several national publications.

Each of the eight state
institutions of higher learning under
the board were ordered to appoint
a faculty or staff member to
supervise publication of each
campus newspaper and annual.

"These faculty or staff members
will be chosen immediately and will
be responsible for editing the
student publications before they go
to press and will be accountable for
the published contents although the
institutional heads will continue to
be ultimately responsible to the
board."

Meantime, at the Mississippi
State University campus in
Starkville, the student publication
leaders said that they would seek
court action if necessary to
overturn the college board's action.

Miss Janna Pepper, associate
editor of The Reflector, said, "I
think the board is absolutely
unreasonable. I don't think they
can do that under the First
Amendment."

Grady Thurman said he had
published the "God is dead" article
last week with the intent of causing
a religious interest on the campus.

"It was aimed at criticizing the
Sunday Christians and to try to
create some religious interest on the
campus," Mr. Thurman said.

He said a second editorial
appeared in the campus newspaper
on Tuesday saying, "Dr. Rich
doesn't believe God is dead and I
don't believe it either."

He added in the second
editorial, "What we are talking
about is the part-time relationship
with God which most Christians
have."

The editorial added that God
"must be searched for and found in
a deeper more personal
involvement."

He said "apparently everybody
must have read the first editorial
and not the second one."