All Copies of Southwestern College’s Award-Winning Newspaper Stolen from Campus

Over the weekend, all issues of The Southwestern Sun — an award-winning student publication for Southwestern College in Chula Vista — were stolen from racks on campus.

According to Max Branscomb, a journalism professor at Southwestern and advisor for the publication, the loss is estimated to be 600 newspapers and 100 magazines. It’s a financial setback for the student newsroom of at least $1,500.

“It’s just a very, very upbeat newspaper, and it hurts to see that the community won’t get to see these stories, and they won’t get to see the journalism students’ work, which I think is excellent in this issue,” said Branscomb.

The theft follows recent news of the publication winning first place in the college division for the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s 2024 Better Newspaper Contest. Out of 1,513 entries in the contest, Anahy Gutierrez, the editor for the Viewpoints section, won first place for critical review. And Camila Gonzalez, the photo editor, received first place for best sports page.

This isn’t the first time the student newspaper has been a target. There have been incidents in the past with issues being vandalized due to racist or homophobic reactions to the content. But having all print copies stolen without a trace is a first for the students.

According to the Southwestern College Police Department, the incident is currently under investigation with no information available at this time. Police Chief Marco Barren was unavailable for comment.

Branscomb said that his next step after the culprit is found is to press charges to make sure this doesn’t happen again.