The Koala
Encyclopedia
The Koala is marketed as a satirical comedy college paper
distributed primarily on the campus of the University of California, San Diego
San Diego State University
and Cal State San Marcos. The publication at UCSD is one of a handful of campus newspapers partly or entirely funded by the Associated Students of UCSD, the school's student government whose responsibilities include distributing monies to various student organizations. It was founded in 1982, but the details of its origins are uncertain. The composition of the paper consists of artwork, articles, personals, and lists similar to David Letterman
's Top Ten List. The Koala's standing protocol when giving interviews to commercial media of any sort is that no statement can be given until they are furnished with beer from the interviewing entity. Exceptions are made for student media as a matter of courtesy.
Nearly all of The Koala' s writing involves making fun of a race, ethnicity, religion, group, people with disabilities, sex, or sexual orientation, as well as recent national tragedies. No subject is taboo, and The Koala made jokes about the September 11 attacks
within days of the event. The paper also celebrates a hedonistic lifestyle including the use of alcohol, drugs, and pornography.
In addition to the print version, The Koala also broadcasts a television show, Koala-TV, as well as having an online portal for readers and staff. The material on both is consistent with the type of humor found in the paper. In addition to The Koala at UCSD, there are also spin-offs of The Koala distributed at San Diego State University
and California State University San Marcos (CSUSM).
The official "purpose" of The Koala is "To crush all your hopes and dreams with comedy."
. A student photographer, who was not a member of The Koala, later submitted his photographs from the meeting to the paper, which used them in a criticism and parody of MEChA's president, Ernesto Martinez. In February 2002, three months after the meeting, the University accused the two Koala students who attended the MEChA meeting and The Koala itself of violating the Student Code's prohibition of "obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, or other UCSD or University activities." In March 2002, Vice Chancellor Joseph W. Watson wrote to "all academics...staff...and students at UCSD": "We condemn The Koala's abuse of the Constitutional guarantees of free expression and disfavor their unconscionable behavior." The University announced that a trial would be held to determine if the paper would be dissolved.
On May 22, 2002, the UCSD Judicial Board opened the trial to the campus media. The UCSD administration refused to participate and left the hearing. Two days later, Director of Student Policy and Judicial Affairs Nicholas S. Aguilar nullified the hearing and ordered a retrial behind closed doors. At the secret trial held on June 5, 2002, the charges were dismissed.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
, released documents and emails indicating that the University encouraged official complaints from MEChA President Ernesto Martinez, and instructed him on how to proceed legally and informally against The Koala. Director of Student Policy and Judicial Affairs Nicholas S. Aguilar denounced the "hate, bigotry, and intolerance" of The Koala. Aguilar encouraged Martinez to submit to his office "any complaints of alleged misconduct not based on the content of the publication." He further assured Martinez of his and the UCSD's administration's support of "the UCSD Principles of Community," which, in his view, Martinez was defending against The Koala. Despite his statements in support of MEChA, Aguilar did not recuse himself from the case. In response to a letter from FIRE, Aguilar claimed that UCSD's actions against The Koala was not based on the content of the publication. Some of these documents were later published by The Koala.
FIRE also pointed out that in 1995, another UCSD student publication, Voz Fronteriza, published an editorial which celebrated the death of Luis A. Santiago, a Latino Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) officer who died in the line of duty. The article described Santiago as ""traitor...to his race," and stated that "We're glad this pig died, he deserved to die," and argued, "All the Migra pigs should be killed, every single one...the only good one is a dead one...The time to fight back is now. It is time to organize an anti-Migra patrol...It is to [sic] bad that more Migra pigs didn't die with him." In response to outrage generated by this article, Vice Chancellor Joseph W. Watson, whose office oversaw the trial of The Koala, defended Voz Fronteriza's "right to publish their views without adverse administrative action" because "student newspapers are protected by the first amendment of the U.S. constitution." The UCSD administration also issued a formal statement that the University was "legally prohibited from censuring the content of student publications."
Thor L. Halvorssen, executive director of FIRE, cited Vice Chancellor Watson's and USCD's 1995 defense of Voz Fronteriza, and argued that "UCSD hypocritically and selectively violates both its own obligations to that Constitution and its own unconstitutional restrictions of speech on behalf of 'courtesy' and 'sensitivity.'" Alan Charles Kors, president of FIRE, argued that "This is an unmistakable attempt to censor officially disfavored views. The same university that in 1995 declared MEChA's call for the murder of U.S. immigration officers to be 'protected by the first amendment of the U.S. constitution' now prosecutes a student publication's parody of MEChA as 'disruptive.'"
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
distributed primarily on the campus of the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
and Cal State San Marcos. The publication at UCSD is one of a handful of campus newspapers partly or entirely funded by the Associated Students of UCSD, the school's student government whose responsibilities include distributing monies to various student organizations. It was founded in 1982, but the details of its origins are uncertain. The composition of the paper consists of artwork, articles, personals, and lists similar to David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
's Top Ten List. The Koala's standing protocol when giving interviews to commercial media of any sort is that no statement can be given until they are furnished with beer from the interviewing entity. Exceptions are made for student media as a matter of courtesy.
Nearly all of The Koala
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
within days of the event. The paper also celebrates a hedonistic lifestyle including the use of alcohol, drugs, and pornography.
In addition to the print version, The Koala also broadcasts a television show, Koala-TV, as well as having an online portal for readers and staff. The material on both is consistent with the type of humor found in the paper. In addition to The Koala at UCSD, there are also spin-offs of The Koala distributed at San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
and California State University San Marcos (CSUSM).
The official "purpose" of The Koala is "To crush all your hopes and dreams with comedy."
Attempted Dissolution by University in 2002
On November 19, 2001, two Koala staff members attended an open meeting of MEChAMEChA
M.E.Ch.A. is an organization that seeks to promote Chicano unity and empowerment through political action. The acronym of the organization's name is the Spanish word mecha, which means "fuse"...
. A student photographer, who was not a member of The Koala, later submitted his photographs from the meeting to the paper, which used them in a criticism and parody of MEChA's president, Ernesto Martinez. In February 2002, three months after the meeting, the University accused the two Koala students who attended the MEChA meeting and The Koala itself of violating the Student Code's prohibition of "obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, or other UCSD or University activities." In March 2002, Vice Chancellor Joseph W. Watson wrote to "all academics...staff...and students at UCSD": "We condemn The Koala's abuse of the Constitutional guarantees of free expression and disfavor their unconscionable behavior." The University announced that a trial would be held to determine if the paper would be dissolved.
On May 22, 2002, the UCSD Judicial Board opened the trial to the campus media. The UCSD administration refused to participate and left the hearing. Two days later, Director of Student Policy and Judicial Affairs Nicholas S. Aguilar nullified the hearing and ordered a retrial behind closed doors. At the secret trial held on June 5, 2002, the charges were dismissed.
Criticism of University
The university administration was subject to sharp criticism for its handling of the case.The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is a non-profit group founded in 1999 and focused on civil liberties in academia in the United States...
, released documents and emails indicating that the University encouraged official complaints from MEChA President Ernesto Martinez, and instructed him on how to proceed legally and informally against The Koala. Director of Student Policy and Judicial Affairs Nicholas S. Aguilar denounced the "hate, bigotry, and intolerance" of The Koala. Aguilar encouraged Martinez to submit to his office "any complaints of alleged misconduct not based on the content of the publication." He further assured Martinez of his and the UCSD's administration's support of "the UCSD Principles of Community," which, in his view, Martinez was defending against The Koala. Despite his statements in support of MEChA, Aguilar did not recuse himself from the case. In response to a letter from FIRE, Aguilar claimed that UCSD's actions against The Koala was not based on the content of the publication. Some of these documents were later published by The Koala.
FIRE also pointed out that in 1995, another UCSD student publication, Voz Fronteriza, published an editorial which celebrated the death of Luis A. Santiago, a Latino Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
(INS) officer who died in the line of duty. The article described Santiago as ""traitor...to his race," and stated that "We're glad this pig died, he deserved to die," and argued, "All the Migra pigs should be killed, every single one...the only good one is a dead one...The time to fight back is now. It is time to organize an anti-Migra patrol...It is to [sic] bad that more Migra pigs didn't die with him." In response to outrage generated by this article, Vice Chancellor Joseph W. Watson, whose office oversaw the trial of The Koala, defended Voz Fronteriza's "right to publish their views without adverse administrative action" because "student newspapers are protected by the first amendment of the U.S. constitution." The UCSD administration also issued a formal statement that the University was "legally prohibited from censuring the content of student publications."
Thor L. Halvorssen, executive director of FIRE, cited Vice Chancellor Watson's and USCD's 1995 defense of Voz Fronteriza, and argued that "UCSD hypocritically and selectively violates both its own obligations to that Constitution and its own unconstitutional restrictions of speech on behalf of 'courtesy' and 'sensitivity.'" Alan Charles Kors, president of FIRE, argued that "This is an unmistakable attempt to censor officially disfavored views. The same university that in 1995 declared MEChA's call for the murder of U.S. immigration officers to be 'protected by the first amendment of the U.S. constitution' now prosecutes a student publication's parody of MEChA as 'disruptive.'"
Other Controversies
Other scandals which have garnered national media attention are:- In 2010, The Koala was involved in a racially charged television segment on UCSD's closed-circuit Student Run Television (SRTV) channel. The footage broadcast by the Koala organization was in violation of SRTV's charter (since Koala did not attain the appropriate approvals required for all broadcasts) and included racial slurs and support for the actions of students involved in the recent party billed the "Compton Cookout". When school administration and officials later sought to collect a copy of the tapes at The Koala headquarters, a note was found that read "Compton Lynching". Although both the Chancellor and the AS President of UCSD condemned The Koala's actions, their future funding has been reinstated.
- In 2006, The Koala was evicted from its campus offices by Gary Radcliffe, assistant vice chancellor of student life, when a bongBongA bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...
with marijuana residue and beer bottles were discovered in its filing cabinets. This resulted in a sit-inSit-inA sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
where staffers occupied and lived in the office and adjacent media commons. - In 2005, Editor Steve York broadcasted a pornographic video of him having sex with a woman on Koala-TV. York's story appeared on several local and national TV news programs. York also went on The O'Reilly FactorThe O'Reilly FactorThe O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
to discuss the issue. - In 2003, The Koala published one of its most criticized issue, a parody newspaper called Jizzlam, which ridiculed the culture of the Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and the Muslim religion. - In 1998, The Koala lost its main campus office for repeated violations of the student code of conduct and student organization conduct agreement.
- In 1998, a spin off of The Koala, "Koala-TV", was banned from campus for broadcasting nude scenes from a Jenny McCarthyJenny McCarthyJennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and...
PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
video. - In 1997, the staff of The Koala was cited for leaving a female student passed out in the office. The student was taken to a downtown drunk tank and fully recovered.
- In 1993, The Koala office was vandalized by unknown people who drew swastikaSwastikaThe swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
s in green paint on the floor and door.