The College Fix

Here’s a rarity: an administrator suffering consequences for retaliating against a college newspaper.

The Student Press Law Center reports that Fairmont State University in West Virginia has removed J. Robert Baker, head of the department of language and literature, from supervising the paper:

The Columns student newspaper published two articles last April and May on their investigations into allegations of mold on campus, along with an editorial criticizing the administration’s reaction to the coverage. Their investigation revealed the presence of stachybotrys chartarum, a potentially toxic form of black mold, in an on-campus dorm.

One week after the last story was published, the students publications adviser Michael Kelley — who was hired in August 2014 — received notification that his one-year appointment was up.

Kelley, along with The Columns editors Jacob Buckland and Tyler Wilson, have claimed that Kelley was hired for a three-year appointment, and his firing was directly related to his support of the students’ investigative work.

Buckland and Wilson have alleged that Baker attempted to intimidate and threaten the newspaper in response to the mold articles.

The editors aren’t confident they’re going to get a quality adviser, though, because the school year starts in less than a month:

“It won’t be someone who’s fit for the job,” Buckland said. “My fear is that it is going to be a professor who’s a suck-up to administration if they’re hiring on that short of notice.”

Read the story.

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