About Student Publications

COSO encourages online printing of publications. Through the "Go Green Iniative," COSO will cover costs for domain hosting, web design, and provide a $100 incentive per term if no paper copies are printed.

Student publications are encouraged to make use of a free, professional, editorial management and publication system that is licensed for Dartmouth by the Library called Dartmouth Digital Commons. This can provide more visibility for your publications, develop a broader audience, and help maintain continuity of editorial practices. Contact them in the Library for more information about using this system. 

The College Archives collects student publications, including issues in both print and digital format, social media feeds, and publication websites. If you are interested in learning more please contact Assistant Archivist for Acquisitions, Julia Logan, to begin the conversation: Julia.W.Logan@dartmouth.edu.

All COSO organizations, including publications, must be ever mindful of the Principle of Community that states: “The life and work of a Dartmouth student should be based on integrity, responsibility, and consideration. In all activities, each student is expected to be sensitive to and respectful of the rights and interests of others and be personally honest. He or she should be appreciative of the diversity of the community as providing an opportunity for learning and moral growth.”

This principle protects the right to speech while reminding us that we are a community that lives and studies together sharing resources and developing relationships.

COSO Requirements

To help everyone understand what each publication is about and who is responsible for its output, COSO has developed the following guidelines.

• Each publication must have a statement of purpose that will be printed in each issue. 
• All content should have bylines clearly stating the author(s)’s names. If the editorial staff has chosen not to identify the author, the editors are wholly responsible for the content of the unattributed item. 
• All publications must have clearly stated that the opinions printed within are those of the authors and do not represent those of Dartmouth College.
• The name of the advisor(s) must be printed in each issue. 

Essential to the work and lives of people at this College is open discourse and the free exchange of ideas basic to an academic community. Further, ideas and their expression should provoke thought and discussion. It is understood that people may disagree with points of view expressed in publications. There is no censorship or required republication reading of COSO publications, and content is not tied to funding. Instead students are encouraged, when considering possibly controversial material, to seek advice about the possible outcomes from publishing a particular item so that they can decide on their best course of action. Student leaders of each publication are responsible for the content of each issue and should expect that feedback, positive or negative, will be directed towards them. 

Legal Requirements

In addition to compliance with the Principles of Community and the COSO requirements set forth above, the publisher of a written work should be aware of legal responsibilities that apply to the work even in an educational context. Additionally, the Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment in colleges and universities, has staff on hand to answer your questions.

In general, be aware of the following: 

• While parody can be an effective form of criticism and is a protected form of free speech, parodies should be clearly "over the top" so that no reasonable reader could misunderstand your intent. When using photos for parody, it is far wiser to do something ridiculous than to alter the photo in a way that might possibly be seen as true. 
• Obscenity, invasion of privacy, and libel are legal standards that must not be violated. Before printing anything that you are concerned could be labeled as obscene, an invasion of privacy or libel, please contact COSO. Independent advice may also be available from the Student Press Law Center. 
• In the end, the final decision about what to print rests with the editors of each publication. For more information, please contact COSO.