The Dean of Library Services at University of the Incarnate Word canceled the library's subscription to the New York Times Wednesday to protest recent stories exposing a secret government program that monitors international financial transactions in the hunt for terrorists.
"Since no one elected the New York Times to determine national security policy, the only action I know to register protest for their irresponsible action (treason?) is to withdraw support of their operations by canceling our subscription as many others are doing," Mendell D. Morgan, Jr. wrote in a June 28 email to library staff. "If enough do, perhaps they will get the point."
Morgan did not return a call for comment this morning. The university released a statement saying that Morgan had the authority to remove the newspaper.
"The University of the Incarnate Word does not take an official position on the recent decision to cancel the subscription of the New York Times at the university's library" the statement said. " This decision was made by the administrator in charge of the library whose authority extends to the contents of the library, and thus it was within his purview to make this decision. The University is supportive of the First Amendment, a free press and of the presentation of diverse points of view."
The move outraged library staff, who complained the dean was censoring information based on personal beliefs.
Staff member Jennifer Romo said she and her coworkers were shocked when they received Morgan's email.
"The censorship is just unspeakable," Romo said. "There is no reason, no matter what your beliefs, to deny a source of information to students." President Bush and administration officials have lashed out at the media since last week, when the New York Times, followed by the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times published stories exposing a classified program to track terrorist financing by tapping international banking records.
