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Controversy Swirls Around CSUSM Professor's Flier
March 19, 2009SAN MARCOS, Calif. -- A flier being distributed on campus at Cal State University San Marcos is warning students about traveling in Mexico, but the campus' independent student ran newspaper views it differently.
The flier contains U.S. travel alerts, State Department information, State Department travel alerts and other information.
Professor Stuart Hurlbert and political activist Mari Hayden were on campus distributing the fliers to students.
"I want them to be safe on spring break. Typically students are not aware of the dangers they may face," Hayden said. "I think for now it's probably a better idea to stay out of Mexico."
With spring break one week away, the message is timely. But it is not the only message on the flier.
"Well, it says boycott Mexico too," Hayden said.
It is the anti-immigration statements on the back side of the flier that has caused the controversy.
"A boycott of Mexico, a boycott of tourism in Mexico, as a way of putting pressure on the Mexican government, to behave with less hostility and less aggression towards the United States," Hurlbert said.
Hurlbert tried to get his message out in an advertisement in the campus newspaper "The Pride," but was turned away.
"The campus newspaper here used political censorship to prevent this information from getting out to the student body," Hurlbert said.
Editor in chief Jackie Carbajal made the call to refuse the ad.
"We reviewed the ad when we received it and we reserve the right to accept or reject ads that we deem appropriate or inappropriate for our publication," Carbajal said.
Carbajal said with 25 percent of Cal State's students of Hispanic descent, she felt the professor's ad wasn't right for the newspaper.
"It presented a lot of information to be factual and I found the ad to be offensive to the audience we represent," Carbajal said.
Hurlbert spent the ad money printing a 1,000 flyers instead, determined to get his messages to students any way he could.
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