Last semester’s request to remove The Thunderbolt, a racially derogatory newspaper, from Founders Memorial Library’s shelves was denied.

Carroll Varner, assistant director for Technical Services at Founders, said the newspaper will remian on library shelves. Thunderbolt still is being subscribed to because it represents a particular viewpoint, he said.

Student Association Welfare Adviser Larry Robertson initially requested the removal of Thunderbolt because of its racial connotations.

Robertson could not be reached for comment Thursday, but has said he wanted the newspaper to be taken off the shelves and the subscribtion discontinued because “it … has no place on this campus or in this library.”

The library suscribes to the newspaper for research material, Varner said.

Robertson’s request prompted the library administration to review the newspaper, which is proper procedure, Varner said.

Thunderbolt was reviewed by the Collections Advisory Development Committee which decides if written material should remain on library shelves.

The committee determines which new materials the library should suscribe to as well.

The process of reviewing written materials is important, said Jon Dalton, vice president for student affairs. “They (the review committee) referred the newspaper to the academic department to make judgement on the research and academic merit,” he said.

While the controversy about Thunderbolt persisted last semester, the library kept the paper behind the periodicals desk to protect it from being vandalized, Varner said.

Dalton said he believes students will not continue to vandalize copies of the newspaper if they know about the review process. He said, “(Students) may not like it (the decision), but they understand it.”

Founders has suscribed to Thunderbolt since 1968, and the library administration has known about the newspaper for a long time, Varner said.

He said the library does not defend what it suscribes to, and they do not believe in the material.

On Sept. 14, several copies of the Georgia-based newspaper were found in the Greek Row area, sparking concern among some NIU officials.

Thunderbolt is edited by Dr. E. R. Fields in Marietta, Ga. The paper has been in circulation for 28 years. The copy which caused a slight uproar on campus was subtitled “News Suppressed by the Daily Press.”

While some took the publication seriously, others like Dave Fischer, Phi Kappa Theta pledge educator, found humor in the 20-page publication, stating “I think it was kind of funny, (but) sort of racist, and it is a very one-sided paper. I think it is more stupid that people would believe it.”