R. Scott Rogers, editor-in-chief of The Minnesota Daily and a signer of the petition, said that if the court's ruling on the advertising issue mirrored the one on the records issue, the Iowa State Daily would face a difficult dilemma.

"It seems that they are close to accepting student fees and losing some of their First Amendment rights, or stop accepting student fees which would be roughly equivalent to a professional paper losing its subscription fees," Rogers said.

Student editors interviewed expressed particular opposition to the Tribune's decision to cite Iowa's unfair competition clause, saying that the forces of the free market should prevail.

"Instead of improving their paper, they're just trying to take it to the courts," said Jacob Luft, editor-in-chief of the Independent Florida Alligator.

"I'm all for competition. It looks to me like the student paper is kicking the city paper's butt," Luft said.

But Gartner said the petition's signers did not understand the complexities of the case.

"They simply don't understand the issue, and don't have any of the facts. It is an emotional attack," Gartner said.

"They clearly don't know the relationship between the newspaper and the university, don't know the law of state of Iowa and they certainly don't know anything about my newspaper or my relationship with the Daily," Gartner added.

The petition will formally be delivered to Gartner on Tuesday, Lazarus said.

Organizers said they may buy advertising space in both the Daily and the Tribune, using the petition to show solidarity, although it is unclear whether the petitions' signers will contribute to the cost.

"We are not going to sit by quietly as our colleagues are attacked," said Josh White, editor-in-chief of the Michigan Daily. "The petition is a show of support."

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Crimson has chosen not to sign the petition for a variety of reasons, including the potential for a staff position on the situation to conflict with news coverage of the issue