The student newspaper at the College of DuPage on Friday published the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that caused widespread protests, many of them violent, across the Islamic world earlier this year.
But copies of the Courier newspaper were hard to find on the Glen Ellyn campus Friday, a college spokesman said, because most of the free papers had been removed from distribution bins. The campus public safety department is investigating their disappearance.
The cartoons--one of which depicts Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb--were printed in the Courier along with an article about a campus presentation earlier this week by Northwest Herald editorial cartoonist Scott Nychay.
A statement next to the full set of 12 cartoons said the newspaper's editors decided to publish them "not to incite anger or create news, but rather to cover a story and to allow for open discussion." It went on to say that "in order to present the issue of the Muhammad cartoon, the images must be alongside."
The Courier also printed a statement from the Muslim Student Association, which said Muhammad was wise, tolerant, and forgiving. The statement said Muhammad "was one of the greatest men to live, and should only be portrayed as such."
Courier editor Kristina Zaremba could not be reached for comment Friday.
A statement from College of DuPage President Sunil Chand said the school "understands the need for freedom of speech, the importance of embracing cultural diversity and the responsibilities that accompany those commitments." Chand said the newspaper "did not reflect the values, aspirations and commitments of the College, and certainly not of [Chand]" in publishing the cartoons.
A spokesman said the college has no role in determining the Courier's editorial content.
The cartoons, first published in Denmark in September, triggered deadly riots in Islamic regions. Most U.S. news organizations--including the Chicago Tribune--have not run the cartoons, but some student newspapers have. They include papers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northern Illinois University.
