Nearly the entire press run of the University of California at Berkeley's student newspaper was stolen early Tuesday morning by a group apparently angered by the newspaper's endorsement of Proposition 209, which will end affirmative action in public institutions in California.
The Daily Californian Editor in Chief Mike Coleman said the newspaper "found it a little fishy that most of the newspapers had moved out by 8 a.m." Coleman said he believes thieves trailed the delivery cars waiting for the papers to be dropped off and then made off with nearly 22,000 of 23,000 copies.
The newspaper ran an editorial Monday supporting Proposition 209, which passed on Tuesday. The Californian ran the editorial again on Tuesday with an editor's note after 4,000 copies of the paper were stolen Monday afternoon.
"We knew full well when we ran the editorial that it was going to stir the campus," Coleman said. "That's just the kind of campus this is."
Coleman said he is not sure exactly who was involved with the theft. The Daily Californian reported yesterday that a student saw three individuals he identified as members of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary near a newspaper rack at 6:45 on Tuesday morning.
In addition, Coleman said an anonymous caller left a message on his voice mail late Tuesday claiming responsibility for the theft and warning that the paper should "consider what stances you take."
Despite attempts by The Daily Californian staff to guard the papers, a large rack of papers was thrown into a fountain yesterday during an anti-209 rally held on Sproul Plaza, a campus forum for free speech. Four hundred protesters attended the rally, which took to the streets and passed by The Daily Californian's office.
Coleman was drawn away from a telephone interview yesterday because he said he could hear protesters chanting "Fuck the Daily." Coleman said the staff prepared themselves for the demonstration by keeping the front door of the press building closed and plastering the windows with paper, but that the crowd was not "out of control."
University of Michigan philosophy Prof. Carl Cohen said that while the theft reflects badly on the anti-Proposition 209 group, it is not likely to have a substantive impact on the outcomes of affirmative action.
"The blockage of opinion is wrong no matter what side it comes from," Cohen said. "It is painful when members of a university community destroy papers to interfere with the presentation of an argument."
In March, more than half of the 16,500 press run of The Michigan Daily was stolen from the racks. Left behind were signs accusing the Daily of racism. Neither Ann Arbor Police nor the Department of Public Safety labeled the incident as a crime, and the Daily did not prosecute.
Coleman said he estimates the recent thefts will cost The Daily Californian over $15,000, which includes the cost of advertising and an additional 4,000 papers that were printed and distributed Tuesday afternoon.
Campus police have classified the incident as grand theft, Coleman said, but city police are considering it to be theft.
Both campus police and city are currently investigating the case.
"It's a free paper, but only free in limited quantities," Coleman said. I don't think 22,000 is a limited quantity."
Coleman said The Daily Californian intends to prosecute the case.
Coleman said The Daily Californian has not yet contacted an attorney and plans to present their case to the city after "gathering more information."
Coleman said the issue was not just monetary and that it "involved some issues of free speech.
"I'd like to know how those people (protesters) would feel if I turned off their microphone," Coleman said. "That's kind of what happened to us. I find it almost ironic that they did this. It's like saying you can have free speech if you say what we want."
Yvonne Choong, a student government official at Berkeley, said she didn't see a lot of student support for the theft.
"If we're going to support free speech, we're going to have to support it all," Choong said. "I don't think their ability to spread information should be obstructed at all,"