By Brittany Clement & James Molnar

The second edition of The Warrior, an independent student-run news publication, made its debut this academic year last Wednesday.

The Warrior is published by Hometown Publications in Germantown, Wis., which also publishes a string of weekly surbuban newspapers in the Milwaukee metro area.Twenty-five staff members contributed to Wednesday's issue, and more students plan to join the staff for the Nov. 30 issue, according to Diana Sroka, editor in chief of The Warrior and a sophomore in the College of Communication.

Sroka said she wanted to start an alternative student publication "so that we can combine everybody's perspectives and offer a whole wide range of new opinions on things that you probably wouldn't hear about otherwise."

"We're a publication that's here for (the students)," she said. "We're going to listen to them, we're going to try and publish what they're interested in reading (and) try to provide them with reliable information."

Sroka said the publication will be distributed monthly this semester, but hopes to increase the frequency next semester to two times per month.

Funding for the 2,000 copies of the current issue, which totaled $370, came from advertising that appeared in the publication, Sroka said.

When The Warrior began last semester, it received a grant and training from the Arlington, Va.-based Leadership Institute, according to Michelle Miller, director of communications for the institute. The organization is a nonprofit educational foundation.

The organization's Web site, www.leadershipinstitute.org, states that it helps "start your own independent, conservative campus publication or give your existing paper a boost."

"The Leadership Institute is nonpartisan, but certainly conservative," Miller said.

Sroka said the only bias The Warrior has is "a bias toward the truth" because "everything that we print in this newspaper is verified and factually correct."

The first edition of The Warrior, which was printed on computer printer paper, came out in April. The current issue, which was printed in black and white on newsprint, includes a feature story about Marquette student Dave Warnacut, who is a member of the U.S. Marines, and the issue also includes opposing viewpoints about Supreme Court nominees.

Students had varied opinions regarding The Warrior.

"It's kind of nice to have a different perspective," said Brandon Rindfleisch, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. "I think (The Marquette Tribune) does have a certain liberal bias… I like the idea of an independent paper."

Others questioned the independence of the publication.

Bobby Lima, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, said he attended a couple news meetings for the staff of The Warrior, but "didn't like the philosophy and ideology."

"It seemed so conservatively slanted that I didn't want to be a part of it, and I'm a conservative," he said. "It's not independent in the slightest. They're not doing it because they feel like writing a newspaper. They're doing it because they think the Tribune is too liberal."

The debate surrounding The Warrior was further intensified Friday morning when Brandon Henak, a senior in the College of Business Administration and The Warrior's business manager, reported that his house had been vandalized.

"I was shocked when it happened. I couldn't believe that there would be people that would actually think that violence and vandalism would solve something," Henak said. "I didn't think that they would do that, especially in response to mere freedom of the press."

The Department of Public Safety is currently investigating the incident, according to Brigid O'Brien Miller, director of university communication. She said if anyone is caught, "they will be subject to discipline through the student conduct system."

College of Arts & Sciences senior Ryan Alexander, a member of College Democrats, denounced the acts of vandalism against Henak.

"I absolutely did not endorse that type of activity and do not expect College Democrats will be found to have been involved in that incident," Alexander said.

John McAdams, associate professor of political science, said he thought the entire controversy over the publication was not necessary.

"From someone who promotes free speech and democracy, it shouldn't be controversial if students want to make a publication expressing their viewpoints," he said.