UPDATE: After Blowback, CNM Reverses Decision to Suspend Paper

Administrators at Central New Mexico Community College are returning sex-related issues of the CNM Chronicle they pulled from the stands.---

The reversal comes after administrators held an emergency publication board meeting—and received national media coverage for their decision to pull the papers in the first place.

"First, I want to give these newspapers back to the Chronicle staff," says CNM president Kathie Winograd in a statement. "We have some more around the college and we’ll get as many back to you as possible."

"I am authorizing the CNM Chronicle to continue operations immediately," says the statement. 

Here's her explanation why the administration had pulled the paper:

"The reason that we pulled this issue from the news racks around campus," Winograd says in a prepared statement, "was that a high school student was included in this issue and we needed to check on the legal ramifications of information on a minor in a publication of the college."

Here's the college's previous explanation of why it pulled the paper:

"Some issues were pulled off the racks late in the afternoon," reads the previous statement. "CNM felt the content was offensive and not appropriate for the educational mission of CNM."

Puzzled? So are we. We're also curious about what "legal ramifications" could arise from publishing an interview of a high school student about why she abstains from sex. Were those "legal ramifications" so grave as to cause the administration to risk violating the First Amendment by pulling papers from racks and suspending publication of the Chronicle?

SFR attempted to contact Winograd. She's apparently busy with meetings. Brad Moore, CNM's communications director, has not communicated with us yet, despite several calls and emails. We'll let you know if we hear anything from either one.

Santa Fe Reporter

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