Hundreds of copies of The Georgetown Academy that were missing as of Sunday were found Wednesday afternoon in the Student Activities Commission office.
The Academy distributed extra copies of last May’s issue to first-year dorms on Sunday and subsequently reported hundreds missing from Village C West.
According to Executive Editor Cindy Searcy (CAS ‘04), the Academy had heard rumors that certain individuals were planning to steal copies of their paper and had suspicions that papers were stolen last year.
The Academy then decided to distribute extra copies of last May’s issue as a trial run rather than risk the theft of a new issue, Searcy said. The Academy also wanted to expose first-year students to the paper.
The Academy is a student-run paper not affiliated with the University and is funded entirely by the Collegiate Network.
“We operate on a shoe-string budget,” Searcy said. “It would be very frustrating and upsetting if copies of a new issue were taken.”
Vice President of Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez said that he found out about the alleged theft when he received a copy of a letter sent to University President John J. DeGioia on Tuesday morning.
The Speech and Expression Committee met Wednesday morning to formulate a suggestion for Gonzalez on the matter. Gonzalez met with editors of the Academy and a Department of Public Safety officer later Wednesday morning.
The papers were not recovered until Wednesday afternoon.
Director of Student Organizations Martha Swanson found the papers in a sealed box in the office Wednesday afternoon and reported the find to Vice President for Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez.
A note was delivered with the papers that said the copies were “sequestered” to give the University time to see if certain contents violated the University’s Speech and Expression Policy.
Gonzalez and Associate Dean of Students Jeanne Lord said they had heard nothing about speech violations in the May issue.
Gonzalez said that Georgetown has a liberal speech policy which encourages engagement and debate.
If someone disagrees with expressed opinion on campus, the solution is to “drown it with more speech of your own making, not steal it,” Gonzalez said.
The Academy wrote a letter on Monday to University President John J. DeGioia and other administrators informing them of the incident and demanding action.
Searcy said that she is grateful for Gonzalez’ response, but added that this is only the first step.
“Our main concern is that our paper isn’t stolen in the future,” Searcy said. She said that although papers have been recovered, she hopes DPS continues to investigate the theft.
Gonzalez said that he will likely make a statement regarding free speech on campus by early next week
