Conservative Paper Launch Delayed by University

April 21st, 2006 1:39 PM

Boston Globe:

A new conservative student newspaper, which bills itself as not for ''the faint of heart," hit a snag during its debut this week at Northeastern University.

Students running the Northeastern Patriot distributed about 2,000 copies on Monday, then received a call from university officials cautioning them that they had to register as a student organization before distributing another issue or change the paper's name. The university requires groups with Northeastern in their name to register.

The first issue of the Northeastern Patriot featured editorials denouncing illegal immigrants, quotes from Republican leaders, and a picture of students at an antiwar protest titled, ''peace Nazis." A note in red at the bottom of the front page warned: ''This publication is printed for a conservative-minded audience and is not recommended for the easily offended, the narrow minded, or the faint of heart. God bless America!"

Students working on the independently run publication said they are worried that university officials are singling them out for printing views that could be considered unpopular on a campus where students often wear anti-Bush pins and hold rallies in support of gay rights. University officials, however, said they are not censoring the paper and simply want the new publication to follow university rules.