The Tribune and its adviser Tom Mueller found out four months before the end of his contract that the university would not renew it. This raised a lot of so-far unanswered questions about the role of the Tribune within the university. Our initial reaction was confusion, fear and suspicion.

This reaction isn't helped by a history of strident criticisms occasionally leveled at the paper's management when the Tribune prints a story reflecting less favorably on Marquette than the administration would like.

The Tribune initially heard the news from Mueller, who said he thought the dismissal was an attempt by the university to muzzle the Tribune as a response to a few controversial stories that had angered university officials.

The College of Communication Dean Bill Elliott declined to publicly comment on the matter and would say only that it was a personnel matter. Provost Madeline Wake declined to comment on the matter. University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild, we were told, was not allowed to speak on personnel matters.

Since both members of the administration and Mueller have failed to provide a job description for the newspaper adviser, we as a staff have no criteria to objectively judge Mueller's performance as a newspaper adviser.

This is the fact: the replacement of the adviser on the eve of the College of Communication dean's retirement is not in itself indicative of any university censorship. However, it puts the university in an awkward position as an academic community dedicated to openness and self-improvement.

This action can be interpreted two ways. It is either a service rendered to the Tribune by holding its advisers to the highest professional standards or an attempt to muscle in on the day-to-day functions of the Tribune newsroom.

Given the incentives on either side of the situation to make it appear one way or the other, we cannot explicitly endorse either side at this time. A pending investigation by the Society of Professional Journalists is the best way for us to interpret the true meaning of this event.

We recognize that this is essentially a personnel matter, but it has more far-reaching impact than the Tribune staff alone. The independence of the Tribune's voice impacts the entire Marquette community.

This is referring not only to the student body, but also to the faculty, administrators, employees and alumni who make up the community.

The Tribune would like to see more specific information on this dismissal provided to the university community, either through the Tribune or other outlets to ensure that our credibility is maintained in the eyes of our readers.

Because of the inherent tension involved in the unique student paper model adopted by the university administration, it is important that the administration be open in matters that could potentially alter the careful balance between the extremes of total university control of the Tribune and an absence of university or faculty guidance.

Even though this situation will eventually reach a resolution, the administration should consider that the objectives of a fair, accurate and independent Tribune will not always coincide with the public relations efforts of the university.

However, it is not the intention of students with a stake in the university's success to sabotage a reputation they may need to join a community of esteemed professionals.

The Tribune staff has a vested interest in the university, the College of Communication and the journalism program.

We only hope for and work toward what is best for each institution.

Related article: "Tribune adviser dismissed; some question legitimacy"

This editorial appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 3 2005.