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Go Casarez!! She was the best professor I ever had - too bad UST has lost such a fine educator.

Nicole Casarez is one of the best professors at UST. The university will not be able to find another adviser with the knowledge, experience, dedication and intelligence to replace her.

It is a shame that the university does not understand the value of an independent student press -- both for the students who work on it and for the university community as a whole. The university's treatment of the Cauldron staff and adviser over the last year or so has damaged its reputation in the eyes of many, myself included.

It's a great loss for the University of St. Thomas Communication majors and the University in general that Nicole Casarez is no longer adviser of the student newspaper. She is a great professor and a tireless advocate for her students and the importance of a student newspaper in the education of future journalists. I know I speak for many of her former students when I say that she made a huge difference in my life.

The UST administration should be ashamed that it has allowed one of its more talented faculty advisors to walk away due to the hostile environment it has fostered against free speech.

Keep fighting the good fight, Prof. Casarez!

I'm happy to see this had gotten some outside attention. Professor Casarez is one of the only good professors I've had at UST and she and the Cauldron staffers have been treated horribly.

It's too bad that the administration decided the Cauldron would be more valuable as a pr rag than an training ground for student journalists. On a campus full of phonies hiding behind Catholic dogma, Casarez is one of few who taught and practiced ethics.

The UST Administration is taking the necessary steps that a right wing conservative institution should take. Inherently the University will think that was, but it is unclear to me why the administration has no concern on the consequences this takeover will produce. The media must remain free regardless of the background the University has, it is with great sadness that I receive the news that Dr Casarez will resign at semester's end. This is the actio of a person who firmly believes and know from study and expereience what the outcome will be.

This was not an overnight event. The administration has been sytematically eroding student control over The Cauldron for many years.

It is insupportable that the higher-ups have allowed this to happen; even worse is that many members of UST's student government, as well as certain university employees, were willing participants and, at times, instigators in trying to squelch news stories.

As many of us former Cauldron staffers have said for years, "We can always do an underground paper." Now's the time, folks.

This is an unbelievably asinine action for the University to take. I agree that Nicole Casarez is one of the finest professors that school has ever seen. She made a huge impact on me as well. I salute her for her integrity and commitment to her beliefs.
However, in this age when the printed word is unfortunately being replaced with the online publication of news and events, why not produce a web site and transfer content over to an independent address online where the University cannot exercise editorial control?

Most college newspapers that try to publish online only fold. The advertising revenue is not there, and students do not visit the sites. Despite their love of all things Internet, college students prefer to read print editions of the student paper and generally do not follow the paper online if there is no more print edition. The print readership rate on college campuses is usually much higher than the rate of the general public. College paper websites work best as supplements to the print edition, but not replacement of it.

This is just disgraceful. If the administration wants to put out a PR Newsletter, they can do so without tearing apart the Cauldron and alienating the faculty and students. A STUDENT-RUN newspaper is just that, and Prof. Casares has done an outstanding job of being an advisor and ensuring quality articles and thoughtful commentaries while still maintaining high journalistic standards. This reeks of a personal agenda within the administration. How sad that they have decided to censor free speech, and they're excersizing this power with no regard for the implications of their actions.

Lonne is right. In the 20 years during which the Cauldron thrived under student control there was hardly a time when staff were not being accused of libel, blasphemy or some other bs (the irony being that the only people on campus with any understanding of the definition of libel were those who took Casarez' classes!).

Under constant administrative and sometimes student government pressure, the reporters and editors never backed down from tough stories--Casarez always had our backs. In the, end telling the truth cost her the paper. So be it. Let's raise some money, take the paper underground and print what we want. If the administration thought the Cauldron was too racy...let's show them what happens when free speech is supressed!

sounds like we need to produce another issue of the SCAULDRON! I think I can still excersize my journalistic muscles... sign me up!

It is about time someone did something about the Cauldron. That waste of student funds has been serving only the needs of the 5 people who write for it. Maybe now a real newspaper will take over, one that actually reports on student events rather than proven rumors. From the sound of it, it seems that the advisor doesn't like accountability. What an example she is setting for future journos.

finally somone speaks for the students. No one here at UST reads or takes the Cauldron seriously because it is full of mis-quotes and anti UST propaganda. Like the guy above said, let's see stories about events and clubs, not rumors.

Go Celts!

The last issue of the Cauldron contained the following articles, among others:

- An article about the university looking to fill the basketball coach position and athletic director position (affects student groups: sports)
- An article about the ECOS's (a campus club) activities
- An article about the Odyssey staff stepping down (sorry, guys, just because it's bad news doesn't mean it's not news)
- A Nobel Prize winner visiting campus (yep, that makes UST look bad)
- A UST alumnus hosting a film showcase (that makes UST look bad too!)
- A current UST staff member who is an artist (ditto)
- Accessibility issues on campus (an incredibly important issue to disabled students who deal with it on a daily basis)
- The Study Abroad program (yet another bad thing!)

Yeah, I'd say this is anti-UST propaganda that doesn't report things of interest to students.

(Note: sarcasm).

The Cauldron is a newspaper, not a PR newsletter. If you don't know the difference, perhaps you should enroll in a communication class. If you would rather read PR, the university has plenty of publications you can pick up.

Ugh. As a graduating student I am thoroughly fed up with students at UST who don't like the Cauldron simply because it reports NEWS. They hide behind this "anti-UST, anti-conservative, anti-Catholic, anti-American" facade, and really just can't grasp the fact that everyone at UST doesn't THINK the same. And I thank God for that; I don't know what kind of "leaders of faith and character" we'd be putting out otherwise.
If you need something to show your parents that everything is A-OK at UST, use the Star View, Just For You, or any of the other 7 or so media outlets that the administration runs specifically for that purpose.

I also have never seen these people who are so fed up with the Cauldron actually TAKE INITIATIVE to CHANGE it - except jump right behind the powerhouses that be when they come in to SQUASH it entirely. Also, any student that has been at UST more than two years *knows* what is really going on here, and knows that there are PLENTY of stories about events and clubs on campus. It's not their fault that they don't have the budget to put out a weekly or daily issue like some other universities. If you live in the REAL world, you know that everything isn't always just fine. Just because something isn't lauding the praises of the administration doesn't make it a non-issue.

For me, it's really eerie how the relationship between the current UST administration and the vast majority of students mirrors the relationship between the Bush administration and the vast majority of the American people.

I'm more outraged that all of these things that are so "horrible" are only made known to the public via the Cauldron, with only a retaliatory action by the administration (or whoever is at fault) when things show them or one of their own in an unfavorable light. It would be much different if the administration actually made a statement about such issues BEFORE there is no choice but to run them in a forum where students can know where their tuition money is going, and what's really going on at the school that they live and get an education at. Why is THAT so difficult?

What should be done now? All I ask is that the higher-ups actually LEVEL with the students who keep this school in existence about what is going on. Keeping this stuff in the dark only hurts the students and stunts the growth of UST. To do otherwise is both illogical, nonsensical, and ultimately goes against the mission statement which the University allegedly stands by and strives to fulfill - it shows a lack of integrity of character on their part.

Only when you acknowledge problems can you actually work to fix them, and make UST the great university it can be.

It would seem that the problem has been acknowledged and steps to fix it have been taken. Bye-Bye biased media and hello real journalism.

What is sad is how someone would even take the time to compare campus politics with national politics. I am amazed at how far reaching Pres. Bush is. To think that he would take the time to play a role at UST....And the notion that the Cauldron does not have the funds to come out even weekly? 3/4 of their funding goes to pay their staff. That is 3/4 of tens of thousands of dollars. I smell pay cuts...

Most people don't like to read what they say in print--doesn't make it a misquote.

The idea that Casarez is unaccountable is outrageous. Everytime a reporter spells a name wrong she has to hear about it. When mistakes are called to the editors' attention they must and always do print a retraction. Just because you disagree, doesn't make it a rumor. I'll repeat prior suggestions that you take a class on media law; Casarez teaches a good one. As a reporter, when you put your name on a story, you make damn sure you get it right because, well, that's your name! Accountability is inherent.

Why don't you demand accountability from your administrators who think they should be able to cut whole departments without having to answer pesky questions from the student paper? Have you asked yourself why there is allegedly not enough money to pay professors in enviro studies, but they could come up with double their initial offer to pay a new (puppet)adviser who won't even be teaching class!

Noone reads or cares about the paper? Tell that to the janitors who now have better working conditions thanks to a Cauldron story. Or the Laurels editors who were restored to offices they'd been kicked out of after a couple of phone calls to department heads from a Cauldron reporter. There are many more examples.

The fact is, the Cauldron was the one of last entities on campus functioning like it would at a REAL univeristy. Now I hear the COC, the most diverse of the three student governing bodies is in similar trouble. If the administrators wants a seminary school, why don't they just drop the "liberal arts" bullshit and call it a day.

What, exactly, is/was the "problem"? And what steps to fix it have been taken? Since when does censorship and consolidating administrative control over a publication that is meant to be student-led "fix" this problem, whatever it is?

It's amazing, even HERE things are misrepresented.

And I'm very sorry that I actually can THINK beyond school politics and relate it to situations outside of the university. Unfortunately, I can do what UST says I should be able to do when I graduate...think critically about issues.

I'll admit that I don't know how much of the Cauldron budget goes to stipends. Whoever has control of their budget is to blame for that (and right now, it looks like they don't).

As a UST alumni and former student of Nicole Casarez's, I am ashamed and embarrassed for the university's administration. Contrary to popular belief, journalism ethics is not an oxymoron. Any student that has taken a course from Prof. Casarez would understand how passionatley she instills the value of journalistic integrity upon her students and Cauldron staff members.

It also amazes me how this administration completely ignores Nicole Casarez's reputation within the legal community. As an attorney, I assure you that she is well respected nationally on issues of journalistic integrity.

If UST wants to print another administratively controlled publication, then it should be published through the Office of Public Affairs. But to couch a PR publication as a student-produced newspaper is a disservice to the students and the community.

I know that as long as the current administration stands behind this policy, I assure you I WILL NOT DONATE A SINGLE PENNY TO THE UNIVERSITY.

I am not an alumni of UST, but I think this issue touches us all. Newspapers are fast becoming yesterday’s news vehicle. People searching for information are now just logging onto the internet (as witnessed by this blog). The internet is an absolute free for all with no one overseeing its content in any form. Newspapers are truly the last bastion for "journalist integrity” as the writers have to take responsibility for their words. As a result, student newspapers are crucial. If the future leaders of tomorrow are filtered today, what will we as a society be left with? This administration has taken away more than just a newspaper from their students; they have taken away their informed voice.

I'd like to know how exactly the three people who had so much negativity to contribute got the knowledge to do so. Count of hands, here-- How many of those people are journalism major? How many have experience working for the press? How many actually read real newspapers?

There is clearly a fundamental difference between the two sides of the arguments here. One understands and respects a newspaper for what it is and the other does not. Wake up, students. There are more important issues than how many points the Rugby Club scored in their last game. (And, yes, if you actually READ the Cauldron, you'll see that those stories are in there, too.)

The student-run newspaper is an open forum. It is a chance for students, faculty and staff to tell their sides of the story (whatever the story may be.) If some students are satisfied with the PR spin spoon-fed to the by the University's administration then they should steer clear of the Cauldron stands and pick up a copy of the Star View, made easily accesible for their reading pleasures. They should also face the fact that there are other people who respect and appreciate the Cauldron. People who want the truth and aren't afraid to face it.

The accusations that the Cauldron spews lies and innaccuraties are entirely false and sound as if they're are coming strait from the mouths of some of UST's less vocal administrative critics.

Additionally, to correct an "innacuracy" asserted by one of
the friendly bloggers, there are currently 17 Cauldron staff members, not five. If you have trouble with your own ability to be accurate and are capable of counting, all you would have to do to verify that fact is pick up the latest isssue of the Cauldron, something I'm sure you didn't do. Amazing how easy it is to criticize a paper you don't even read.

Most infuruiating, I am disgusted to read the amount of criticism regarding the amount of pay given to the Cauldron staff. Do you go to your job and expect that you should work for free? Should I work tirelessly, more than 40 hours a week, and demand the same kind of thankless, unpaid time from my staff members for nothing? By that same token, should all of the other student leaders work for free, too? Have you calculated the percentages of other student organizations' budgets that go to pay stipends?

And as for the assertion that "no one here at UST reads or takes the Cauldron seriously"-- well, I don't think I really need to point out the "innacuracy" in making such a ridiculously blanketed and untrue statement. I'm quite certain that there are plenty of people who read and take the Cauldron seriously, and you can see the names of many of them here on this page.

I'll stop now with a reminder that UST is supposed to be serving the interests of all of its students and not just the ones who agree with the philosophy of its current administration. The point here still remains, despite attempts to level insults and criticism at the Cauldron.

I look forward to reading the thoughts of you friendly dissenters in a letter to the editor. Of course, you know you'll have to sign your names on the bottom of those...

I'd like to know how exactly the three people who had so much negativity to contribute got the knowledge to do so. Count of hands, here-- How many of those people are journalism major? How many have experience working for the press? How many actually read real newspapers?

There is clearly a fundamental difference between the two sides of the arguments here. One understands and respects a newspaper for what it is and the other does not. Wake up, students. There are more important issues than how many points the Rugby Club scored in their last game. (And, yes, if you actually READ the Cauldron, you'll see that those stories are in there, too.)

The student-run newspaper is an open forum. It is a chance for students, faculty and staff to tell their sides of the story (whatever the story may be.) If some students are satisfied with the PR spin spoon-fed to the by the University's administration then they should steer clear of the Cauldron stands and pick up a copy of the Star View, made easily accesible for their reading pleasures. They should also face the fact that there are other people who respect and appreciate the Cauldron. People who want the truth and aren't afraid to face it.

The accusations that the Cauldron spews lies and innaccuraties are entirely false and sound as if they're are coming strait from the mouths of some of UST's less vocal administrative critics.

Additionally, to correct an "innacuracy" asserted by one of
the friendly bloggers, there are currently 17 Cauldron staff members, not five. If you have trouble with your own ability to be accurate and are capable of counting, all you would have to do to verify that fact is pick up the latest isssue of the Cauldron, something I'm sure you didn't do. Amazing how easy it is to criticize a paper you don't even read.

Most infuruiating, I am disgusted to read the amount of criticism regarding the amount of pay given to the Cauldron staff. Do you go to your job and expect that you should work for free? Should I work tirelessly, more than 40 hours a week, and demand the same kind of thankless, unpaid time from my staff members for nothing? By that same token, should all of the other student leaders work for free, too? Have you calculated the percentages of other student organizations' budgets that go to pay stipends?

And as for the assertion that "no one here at UST reads or takes the Cauldron seriously"-- well, I don't think I really need to point out the "innacuracy" in making such a ridiculously blanketed and untrue statement. I'm quite certain that there are plenty of people who read and take the Cauldron seriously, and you can see the names of many of them here on this page.

I'll stop now with a reminder that UST is supposed to be serving the interests of all of its students and not just the ones who agree with the philosophy of its current administration. The point here still remains, despite attempts to level insults and criticism at the Cauldron.

I look forward to reading the thoughts of you friendly dissenters in a letter to the editor. Of course, you know you'll have to sign your names on the bottom of those...

I'd like to know how exactly the three people who had so much negativity to contribute got the knowledge to do so. Count of hands, here-- How many of those people are journalism major? How many have experience working for the press? How many actually read real newspapers?

There is clearly a fundamental difference between the two sides of the arguments here. One understands and respects a newspaper for what it is and the other does not. Wake up, students. There are more important issues than how many points the Rugby Club scored in their last game. (And, yes, if you actually READ the Cauldron, you'll see that those stories are in there, too.)

The student-run newspaper is an open forum. It is a chance for students, faculty and staff to tell their sides of the story (whatever the story may be.) If some students are satisfied with the PR spin spoon-fed to the by the University's administration then they should steer clear of the Cauldron stands and pick up a copy of the Star View, made easily accesible for their reading pleasures. They should also face the fact that there are other people who respect and appreciate the Cauldron. People who want the truth and aren't afraid to face it.

The accusations that the Cauldron spews lies and innaccuraties are entirely false and sound as if they're are coming strait from the mouths of some of UST's less vocal administrative critics.

Additionally, to correct an "innacuracy" asserted by one of
the friendly bloggers, there are currently 17 Cauldron staff members, not five. If you have trouble with your own ability to be accurate and are capable of counting, all you would have to do to verify that fact is pick up the latest isssue of the Cauldron, something I'm sure you didn't do. Amazing how easy it is to criticize a paper you don't even read.

Most infuruiating, I am disgusted to read the amount of criticism regarding the amount of pay given to the Cauldron staff. Do you go to your job and expect that you should work for free? Should I work tirelessly, more than 40 hours a week, and demand the same kind of thankless, unpaid time from my staff members for nothing? By that same token, should all of the other student leaders work for free, too? Have you calculated the percentages of other student organizations' budgets that go to pay stipends?

And as for the assertion that "no one here at UST reads or takes the Cauldron seriously"-- well, I don't think I really need to point out the "innacuracy" in making such a ridiculously blanketed and untrue statement. I'm quite certain that there are plenty of people who read and take the Cauldron seriously, and you can see the names of many of them here on this page.

I'll stop now with a reminder that UST is supposed to be serving the interests of all of its students and not just the ones who agree with the philosophy of its current administration. The point here still remains, despite attempts to level insults and criticism at the Cauldron.

I look forward to reading the thoughts of you friendly dissenters in a letter to the editor. Of course, you know you'll have to sign your names on the bottom of those...

I agree that Nicole Casarez is one of the finest professors UST has. She is dedicated and truly believes in everything she teaches and works with. It is a shame that UST would go this far and loose a paper and advisor that mean so much. I stand behind everything Casarez has said and done!!

There isn't enough information in this article to make a judgment about anything. The article has too little information, and the comments are absurd unless the writers have more information that is given in the article.

Why did she resign? She quit in protest that the administration is trying to exert editorial control. But what does this mean? There are no examples.

There is the accusation that some persons do not understand a newspaper or its role. What is its role? What is the correct understanding? What is the misunderstanding?

Did she resign from her role as advisor or entirely from UST? The comments seem to include both intepretations, and the article is ambiguous at best.

The article itself and most of the comments are poorly written.

The Cauldron is a joke it always has been, as far as the Publications Board controlling what is written in the the Cauldron, they have had absolutely no impact on the Cauldron thus far. They have not stopped the Cauldron from writing anything. This all stemmed from SGA bill, which in effect actually gave the Cauldron more funds than it would of had if it stayed under SGA. However the Cauldron and its staff just want to act like a victim when in reality, NOTHING has changed since The Publications board was put in, except for the fact that Casarez resigned because she is upset that she isn't the top person anymore. Other than that the Cauldron is in a better place than it would have been. Stop acting like a victim and just keep doing what you've been doing.

@ Comm student,

You should get the facts straight before you comment. The pub board has not started acting yet. The members have not even all been put into place.

And that's not the only factual error in your post.

I'll eat my hat if "CommStudent" is really a Communications major at UST. That post is poorly written, fragmented and barely literate, not to mention completely farcical. Go look THAT up, skippy. Prof Casarez has *never* been a power-hungry in charge type - that's the most ludicrous thing I think I've ever heard somone say, or imply. If you're cranky at her, it's probably because you signed up for one of her classes and didn't do the work, or found it too hard. There were no easy grades in any of her classes. To my understanding, she resigned as advisor to the Cauldron in protest - specifically to protest the fact that the administration is taking editorial oversight of the publication and will, without a doubt, turn it into another spin magazine for prospective students and donors. That is CRAP. Erika states it very well - they're way past Liberal Arts at this point. And I can pretty much promise you that the students who aren't interested in what the Cauldron has to say are the ones who spend more time getting dressed for class than they do studying. Vapid twits. Every attack that has been brought has been nicely refuted by people who actually know what's going on, Maybe you should take YOUR groundless accusations elsewhere - I hear UST has a new publication that will print whatever the administration wants it to - you can go practice some yellow journalism in those pages. Don't forget to sign your name.

First of all, I worked on the Cauldron for four years and am pretty certain that 99.99 percent of the people who criticize The Cauldron don't actually read it. Furthermore, 100 percent of the same critics have never actually done anything to improve The Cauldron.

The Cauldron isn't playing the victim and any assertion of such is an oversimplification of what's going on. This isn't just a student newspaper upset at the administration: this is about the legitimacy of a student-run press at a University more concerned with the bottom line than a well-rounded college experience that actually fosters constructive debate. Time and time again, either a) the students relinquish control over their domain because of administrative pressure or pure apathy or b) the administration makes a unilateral decision that slights its staff, faculty and students with little to no reparations to interested parties.

When it comes to the budget, the large chunk of money people complain about is the editor and assistant editor's stipend. Yes, it's a lot of money. Skyrocketing tuition (it was almost $2,000 a class by Dec. 2006) requires a lot of money. Does the amount need to be reevaluated? Maybe. But anybody who equates the amount of work the editor and assistant editor do to the work that any other student leader on campus does is sorely mistaken. I doubt that the student government president does anything remotely similar to writing, editing, interviewing, delegating, etc., etc. every three weeks for a product that (admittedly) gets little to no response by either an apathetic student body or a biased and unforgiving Catholic student leadership.

Really, though, the issue that I think most people who have come out in defense of The Cauldron isn't the quality of The Cauldron nor is it the budget of The Cauldron. I think most of us are concerned and angered that the one person who actually cared to teach students what journalism is and how true journalists should work was forced to choose between her ethics as an adviser and the University's bottom line.

Professor Casarez is one of the few reasons that I chose to remain at UST. She is an incredible example of what a rational, ethical and fair person should be like and I consider myself lucky to have been one of her students. Never has an administrator or a theology or philosophy professor treated me with the respect that Professor Casarez always did and does, even when I was a snotty freshman. She is the one of a small number of UST faculty members who have no qualms about fighting for students and defending their right to a well-balanced education. Anybody who believes or says otherwise has no idea what a true educator can and should do.

God bless The Cauldron and God bless Professor Casarez.