*DELAND, Fla., – One of the state’s oldest college newspapers was shut down this week and the entire editorial staff fired after publishing a profanity-filled April Fool’s Day issue that included racist jokes and a sex column advocating rape and domestic violence.
Stetson University on Wednesday suspended publication of its student newspaper The Reporter for the rest of the school year. Members of its staff said they were given 15 minutes to clear their belongings out of the office as the locks were being changed.
The Reporter has had an annual tradition of poking fun at the faculty, student groups and itself with an April Fool’s edition renamed The Distorter.
“There’s not much in this year’s Distorter that you can laugh about,” Michelle Espinosa, dean of students, said Thursday. “We believe very strongly in students’ need for autonomy. But the students do assume responsibility for their editorial decisions.”

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