College newspapers across the country have come under fire for publishing an advertisment from the Center for the Study of Popular Culture opposing reparations for slavery.

The Iowa State Daily decided to run this ad in Thursday’s paper.

The advertisement generated a lot of discussion at the Daily, and it was not a decision we made lightly. But it basically came down to freedom of speech.

Newspapers exist to report news and to serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas.

That means all ideas, not just those that are widely accepted in a particular community.

For example, the majority of Iowans are not supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, but the Des Moines Register frequently runs PETA ads.

Last semester, the Daily ran an ad asserting that the Holocaust never occurred, even though that probably is not the opinion of most of our readers.

As a forum for the exchange of ideas, it is not the role of a newspaper to make judgments about the opinions expressed in the paper.

We at the Daily do not necessarily agree with every ad that runs in our paper.

If we only ran those we personally agreed with, the paper would probably be two pages long, consisting entirely of pizza ads.

Several people have also written letters debating the position and ideas expressed in the advertisement.

This is exactly what freedom of speech is all about and what newspapers strive to achieve.

There are inevitably people who disagree with things that appear in the paper.

However, rather than attacking the newspaper for printing controversial opinions, it is more effective to start a debate about the ideas.

We encourage people to write in and express their opinions about this issue or any issue that concerns them.

That’s what newspapers are for. It’s all about free speech – ours and yours.

editorialboard: Carrie Tett, Jocelyn Marcus, Katie Goldsmith, Andrea Hauser and Tim Paluch