April Fools' Day and campus newspapers don't mix.

Just ask Audrey Thompson.

Thompson, then 20, was editor in chief of The Catalyst, the student newspaper at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. It was on her watch that The Catalyst published its satirical April Fools' edition in 2002.

That edition had inflammatory headlines such as "College Student Disappointed at Lack of Hot Asian Babes." It also had a story about a mock TV network, "Niggalodeon," with racist and hateful commentary targeting African Americans.

Widespread complaints followed. Under pressure, Thompson and her managing editor, John Traub, quickly resigned.

When asked to identify factors that contributed to the racist publication, Thompson cited issues common to many campus news outlets:

• Lack of diversity among staff members
• Lack of journalism experience
• Lack of sensitivity/diversity training
• Lack of guidelines for the April Fools' edition

"I had never worked on (an April Fools' edition) before, and I was under the impression that it was anything goes, over the top, that people are frequently pissed, and that's OK," she said.

Thompson doesn't offer these factors as an excuse. "There was clearly negligence on my part, and I take responsibility for that," she said. "[But] I think there was a bigger racial problem on campus that was not being addressed."

Exploring that topic — unlike the inflammatory April Fools' edition — would be a good project for any campus newspaper.

Check out our resources section for more tips about campus newspapers.

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