After a long legal battle, a settlement was reached this summer between Iowa State and Partnership Press. According to the June 15 decision, student publications are allowed to be distributed more widely than non-university publications at ISU.

Partnership Press, which publishes The Ames Tribune, sued the university in 1996, claiming its distribution policies restricting non-university publications violated the First Amendment.

Under the settlement, Partnership Press is allowed to distribute The Tribune in 39 campus locations.

Most of the new locations are in lounge and vending areas, said Paul Tanaka, director of University Legal Services.

Warren Madden, vice president of business and finance, said the settlement prevented the distribution case from going to trial.

“We obviously have eliminated the need to go to litigation, which will save a lot of effort for a lot of people,” Madden told the Daily in June. “We hope this will permit the Daily to serve and focus on the university.”

Although non-university publications have gained spots on campus, student publications will continue to have a broader distribution base, said Jeff Stein, lawyer for the Iowa State Daily.

“The settlement is very good news for the Daily because it preserves our distribution on campus so that we can reach our audience,” Stein said.

“It virtually does not change how we reach the students who subscribe to the news through student fees, and that helps enhance the educational mission of the newspaper,” he said.

Tanaka also said student publications should and will hold a special place at the university.

“We believe we’ve established that we do have that right to have student publications distributed on a broader base than other publications,” Tanaka said. “We think that makes logical sense for an educational institution.”

The settlement clarified several distribution issues but did not include a monetary settlement, Tanaka said. However, ISU was required to pay a portion of attorney fees and costs incurred by Partnership Press.

Michael Gartner, editor of The Tribune, told the Daily in June that he viewed the lawsuit and its settlement as an “outrage.”

“It’s kind of outrageous that we had to spend a quarter of a million dollars to try to secure the right to disseminate information in a public forum,” Gartner said.

Additional distribution locations for non-university publications are mostly in buildings, including all the residential areas and university housing.

Gartner said there was some confusion over which buildings were allowed to have non-university publications.

“As incredible as it seems, we’re still barred from distributing in Parks Library and Hamilton Hall,” he said.

The settlement also made provisions for the cleanup of trash left by newspapers on campus. Partnership Press agreed to remove all unused, out-of-date copies and other materials related to circulation.

Stein said he was happy with the settlement and felt it was important to protect the voices of students.

“What’s important to students is enhanced access to the publication that is by ISU students and for ISU students,” he said.

Stein also said increased access to non-university publications would be a good resource for students.

Madden said the university will construct and design wooden racks to distribute non-university publications in the new locations. The publications will reimburse the university for the construction of the racks.

He said the university also hoped to improve distribution facilities for student publications published less frequently, including campus magazines.

The settlement also states that the university and Partnership Press establish a committee to review the Daily’s educational mission and the commercial activities of the Daily, Gartner said.

He said Partnership Press has agreed not to sue on that issue before the end of the school year.

“[We are] hoping that issue can be resolved within the year,” Gartner said.