Let’s say that a handful of students gets greatly exercised over some university decision and decides to start up an alternative newspaper so they can present their views to everyone on campus. Good luck to them.

Under the university’s new Periodical Distribution Policy, the group must first secure the university’s approval because the policy requires that “all periodicals wishing to distribute on the lowa State University campus” must obtain the written permission of the vice president for business and finance.

Let’s say the students decide to do that; they march up to the vice president’s office to seek his permission to distribute on campus. The new policy doesn’t provide the vice president with much guidance in how to handle the request — it doesn’t tell him that all requests, in the normal course of things should be approved, nor does it tell him on what basis to approve or reject requests. It simply makes the vice president the final arbiter.

There is no appeal.

Let’s assume the review by the vice president goes the students’ way, and distribution on campus is approved.

Then, according to the new policy, another key decision is to be made — is the periodical “university sponsored ” or “non-university sponsored?”

“University-sponsored” periodicals, says the policy, are those that have “a demonstrated connection to an academic program at lowa State University.”

The students scratch their heads over this one. They don’t like the sound of that word “sponsored.”

They aren’t sponsored by anyone at the university. In fact, they feel that “sponsored” suggests they might be advocates for the university, which isn’t quite the role they hope to play with their alternative newspaper. Nor do they have, nor want, any “demonstrated connection” to any academic program.

They fear that a link to an academic program could be seen as compromising their independence.

So they check the box marked “non-university sponsored” — which about seals their fate because it means it will be near impossible for them to reach much of that audience they wanted to.

“Non-university sponsored” periodicals, says the policy, are limited to distributing at about 15 sites across campus; “university-sponsored” publications, on the other hand, get to distribute in most buildings on campus — at about 60 locations.

Despite that setback, the students soldier on and next come up against the “distribution box” hurdle. This section of the new policy requires that they distribute their newspaper through approved “distribution boxes.”

If the students are lucky, existing periodical distribution boxes will be empty in their 15 distribution locations, which would allow them to take over those spaces, much in the way a cowbird takes over an empty nest. But if no boxes are available, then these students, as the publishers of this “non-university sponsored” publication, must either buy the appropriate distribution boxes from the university (no price is stated in the policy) or build their own.

If they decide to build their own, they can’t just hammer something together.

They must first put together a prototype based on the university’s design; the prototype must then be approved by facilities planning and management; once approved, the students can start banging away.

But it’s premature for them to start getting excited about starting up the printing press because they’ve now got to contend with the “disposal/distribution fee,” which is also part of the new policy.

Let’s say the students plan to publish once per month; the new policy says that as a non-university sponsored publication, publishing monthly, they will be charged $25 per box at this year’s rate, or $375 for their 15 boxes, with the money due on July 1.

By now, the students are realizing their alternative newspaper is going to be costing them much more than they ever anticipated, and they decide they need more cash. Some of them go to a blood bank, some pick up bottles and cans, others volunteer for paid psychological experiments.

Their bank account grows to $497, which pleases them greatly because they learn they might need the additional cash to offset the possible effect of another provision they’ve found in the new policy. It’s called the “outdated issues disposal fee.”

Should the student-publishers be negligent and fail to keep their distribution boxes cleared of old issues, necessitating the university’s doing it for them, they will be charged $50 per occurrence, according to the policy.

If that’s not enough to cool their ardor for their newspaper, they also find that should they flub up and violate important sections of this policy, the penalty is severe.

They can be barred from distributing their newspaper on campus for up to one year, after which they may reapply, but there’s no guarantee their publication will be allowed to distribute again.

All of this process and procedure and cost and complexity finally drives these students to consider the unthinkable — they’ll print up their newspaper, and, in the dark of night, steal across campus and drop it off in every university building.

But even that possibility was anticipated by the policy.

The key provision reads, in bold type: “Periodicals found in unapproved locations and unauthorized periodicals shall be disposed of by university support personnel and reported to the vice president of business and finance and the dean of students. ” The policy doesn’t indicate the penalty for such outrage, but, because of its bold type, there’s no doubt the university means business. Expulsion doesn’t seem beyond the pale.

Despite all the hurdles, the students remain upbeat about publishing their newspaper. They are committed to it — until they realize that with all the delays and difficulties, it’s now mid-May. And everybody’s gone.

The university’s new periodical distribution policy was no doubt well-intentioned. The Iowa State Daily has long been distributed on campus, along with several campus magazines like ethos and the Agriculturist. But a host of non-university newcomers like Toons, Cityview and University Times have arrived lately, and Campus Reader is knocking at the university’s door, too.

Alternative periodicals have also sprouted over the years, focusing on everything from feminism and African-Americanism to national and conservative politics. Certainly, so many publications have caused litter problems at times.

They may also have compromised health and safety in the corridors of some university buildings, and so much competition has raised questions among some as to whether the campus periodicals would be drowned out.

It was no doubt understandable that the university would attempt to clean up its own nest.

But is the university’s new periodical distribution policy an appropriate response?

This is a policy in which the administration has taken upon itself the right to decide which periodicals are allowed wide distribution on campus.

It will pick and choose, depending on whether the periodical is willing, and able, to define itself as “university-sponsored,” which means the periodical must have a “demonstrated connection to an academic program.”

The “demonstrated connection” is not spelled out. For instance, is it sufficient for the involved students simply to say, “We’re connected to the Philosophy Department?”

Or do they need a faculty adviser from philosophy? Or must the entire faculty of the Philosophy Department step forward in order to prove the connection? And how would the link to philosophy affect the periodical’s content? Would it mean they could only write about Descartes and Sartre? The questions aren’t answered.

Those student periodicals that operate on shoestrings and forswear any university affiliation will likely cease to exist because the new policy will mean an increase in both their costs and the hurdles they’ll have to overcome to publish.

Non-university publications like Cityview, Toons and the Campus Reader will be limited to only a few campus distribution points. This policy will mean a diminution in the freedom of expression and the exchange of ideas on this campus.

The Faculty Senate and the Government of the Student Body need to get involved. The policy needs to be changed.

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Dick Haws is an associate professor of journalism and mass communication.