A local college's newspaper is back in its office this month after clashing with the president of the student body and finding itself locked out of its publication room.
The Unfiltered Lens, the Community College of Rhode Island's student-run newspaper, lost access to its publication room in the Knight Campus student union building in late July. David Gannon, the paper's chief executor, said the path to regaining its headquarters proved rocky amid negotiation failures and allegations that student government president Manna Muhuri solicited a bribe in the form of favorable coverage for the return of office privileges.
Muhuri — who did not respond to multiple requests for comment — has denied the allegations of bribery, according to media reports.
Gannon said the debacle came after Muhuri dismissed him as vice president of student government — along with the rest of his cabinet — in June, and Gannon filed a complaint alleging that the move violated the student government's constitution.
The controversy began in late July, Gannon said, when notes were posted on the Student Union office doors saying new locks would be installed on August 6. Several days prior to the stated date, the staff found itself locked out. Gannon said the security office mistakenly changed the locks early because they did not have access to any of the clubs' schedules.
The lock change request came from CCRI Associate Vice President for Student Services Ronald Schertz, who said the step was taken as a security measure because several sets of keys to the old locks were missing. Other student groups were affected by the lock change as well.
Gannon submitted a form to obtain new keys for himself and the other editorial board members, he said.
But soon after turning the form in to Schertz's secretary, Gannon was called into the vice president's office and told that Muhuri objected to the request.
According to Schertz and Gannon, Muhuri initially framed the problem as one of space allocation. "Space in student areas — not just on this campus but on the other campuses, too — is very limited," Schertz said. Rarely do clubs want the administration to allocate that space, he added, so the job often falls to the student government.
Gannon agreed to meet with Schertz and Muhuri to discuss the matter, but said Muhuri later approached him and offered to relent on the issue if the paper gave him positive press.
"Obviously that's quid pro quo right there," Gannon said. He added that if the issue was over space allocation, Muhuri failed to make that clear to the Unfiltered Lens from the beginning.
"You start negotiations by talking," Gannon said. "You don't start by taking action first."
Schertz set up a meeting with Muhuri, Gannon and the paper's adviser Steve Forleo to further discuss the matter. Gannon said Muhuri expressed concern that locating the Unfiltered Lens' publication office — they also have a separate editorial office outside of the student union — near the student government's headquarters would promote eavesdropping by reporters.
Gannon said Muhuri then shut down suggestions to relocate the paper's office, and the meeting reached a stalemate with Gannon walking out.
At a later meeting, Muhuri relented and said the paper could keep its office. But, Gannon alleged, Muhuri still requested that the paper not report negatively on him. Gannon said he offered Muhuri no promises.
Gannon said the Unfiltered Lens, which is three years old, has reported minimally on the student government in the past. The president before Muhuri, Jim Brady, is also the paper's interim editor-in-chief. Brady wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that he gave up his writing duties when elected last year.
For now, the paper is back in its publication office. New security policy only allows one person to have key access to the room.
