New York, N.Y., December 1, 2000… Campus media has long been a forum for expressing opinions that can stretch the limits of Freedom of Speech.

Related ADL Article: College Newspapers and Holocaust-Denial Ads: Why Editors Need Not Print Such Ads

Unfortunately, too many student-editors believe the First Amendment requires them to publish everything that is submitted. Extremists, bigots and anti-Semites target campus media for exactly that reason. In an effort to guide campus editors and administrators through the advertising and editorial acceptability process, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and The New York Times (NYT) hosted a national invitational colloquium, "Extremism Targets the Campus Press: Balancing Freedom and Responsibility."

The one-day event featured Arthur Sulzberger Jr., NYT Publisher; Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director; Steph Jesperson, NYT Director of Advertising Acceptability; Bob Herbert, NYT columnist; Caryl Stern-LaRosa, ADL Educational Director; and Dr. Jeffrey Ross, ADL Campus Affairs Director.

"As publishers, editors and reporters we want to do everything we can to encourage a full exchange of ideas and opinions. What our newspapers cannot be is the modern day equivalent of a Roman Coliseum where everything goes and the most brutal form of intellectual exchange is permitted," said Mr. Sulzberger. "We cannot allow our publications to be mere billboards for things we know not to be true or for the purveyors of hate and filth."

"We want student-editors to know that the First Amendment should be respected but that there are limits to what is acceptable," added Mr. Foxman. "ADL and The New York Times hosted the forum for the editors and journalists of tomorrow to discuss levels of accountability and acceptability, whether you are at the most respected daily paper in the world or a respected university paper."

A panel discussion with Mr. Jesperson, Mr. Herbert and Dr. Ross, moderated by Ms. Stern-LaRosa, featured an in-depth analysis of the NYT advertising acceptability policies and ADL's role in helping campuses to stand up to extremists who target their media. The case-study for the colloquium were several advertisements that denied the existence of the Holocaust, part of an anti-Semitic campaign that began more than 10 years ago and has appeared in college papers across the country.

Thirty-two colleges and universities were represented including Swarthmore College, Columbia University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Skidmore College, Hampshire College, Wake Forest University, University of Pennsylvania, Brigham Young University, Harvard University, Binghamton University, Cal State- Sacramento, Sarah Lawrence College, U. of Maryland-Baltimore and Queens College.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.