Following national attention and heavy social media backlash, SUNY Buffalo State’s United Students Government issued a statement on Facebook reversing their decision to freeze the Record’s budget following the release of an April Fools issue.

Hello Community & The Record, After much consideration; we have reconsidered our actions about freezing your newspaper budget. Our initial actions were made based on the concerns we received from several students. As United Students Government, students come first. The removal of the “April Fools” edition of the paper was called in order to protect our students from feeling uncomfortable. However, The Record you’re our students as well! & the freedom of speech and press proves that us limiting your distribution, is not right. After considering both sides of concerns, we will continue on reaching out to The Record for a meeting where a medium can be reached. We appreciate all of the efforts from alumni, media, and students pertaining the issue. Communication is the most important tool of all, and we would like for The Record to be a wonderful platform for communication to our community, as well as making sure students feel comfortable and protected by USG. Once again, we look forward to talking to The Record at their earliest convenience. Thank you to all.
-USG Team

The satirical, titled “The Wreckard,” was originally called “offensive” by USG Executive Vice President Emily Leminger, who informed the Record by email that their budget was frozen and demanded that all 2,000 copies of the issue be removed from stands campus-wide. Record staff did not comply, instead reaching out to local press for support on what they felt to be a breach of power by USG. The story was quickly picked up, including coverage from The Buffalo News, WGRZ, WKBW, and College Media Matters.

Before USG publicly announced the reversal of their decision, Vice President for Student Affairs Hal Payne issued the following statement:

While the The Record’s April Fools’ satire edition may have been upsetting to some and certainly pressed the boundaries of humor, I am concerned that the United Students Government’s decision to freeze the paper’s funding may infringe on students’ right to free speech.  Because The Record is a recognized student organization, United Students Government provides oversight of the paper, not the college administration.  However, I will reach out to the leaders of both organizations in the coming days to encourage a swift resolution.