Two weeks ago, the University of Texas at Austin was forced to choose between keeping the grounds clean and spreading student journalism.

The university’s College of Communication administration initially rejected the idea of having boxes for The Daily Texan — the student newspaper — in the newly established Belo Center of New Media for fear of increased litter, according to a Sept. 7 Daily Texan article.

But after receiving backlash from students, alumni and faculty, the college announced boxes would be installed, according to the article.

UT Austin is working toward a silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for the Belo Center. LEED certification signifies a building’s “greenness” in energy and resource preservation, according to the article.

The administration originally said it felt not providing newspaper boxes at the facility would help keep the school clean, according to the article.

Laura Byerley, the public affairs representative at UT Austin, said in an email that the College of Communication “never intended to ‘ban’ Daily Texan boxes.”

“Because they were already located across the street (15 feet away), it never occurred to us that we would need additional ones,” she said. “However, we have asked our architect to recommend locations and designs for newspaper boxes at the Belo Center for New Media.”

The College of Communication tweeted assurances similar to Byerley’s on Sept. 6, citing “confusion” regarding the issue of the boxes and reaffirming that UT Austin is “working to make (The Daily Texan) available.”

Students and faculty were not just aggravated with the inconvenience of crossing the street to get a newspaper, but also with the principle of the issue: A journalism school should endorse the student newspaper, according to a Sept. 6 Daily Texan article.

There are about 175 newspaper boxes on and off campus, according to the article, and it would be ironic if the Belo Center contained none.

After UT Austin announced Daily Texan boxes would be placed in the Belo Center, Glenn Frankel, director of the College of Communication, voiced his approval of the revised decision in the Sept. 7 article.

“I thought it was a mistake to not give students and faculty access to The Daily Texan and newspapers here in the Belo Center,” Frankel said in the article. “To me, it was not important whether those boxes were inside the lobby or outside, just that there is access for our students.”

Published on September 20, 2012 at 12:57 am

Contact Andrew: asmuckel@syr.edu