College campuses nationwide are reacting to student newspapers’ decisions to publish or show cartoons originally published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

The cartoons include one with the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban. That cartoon is deemed as the most offensive to Muslims who believe any depiction of prophets to be forbidden because it can become idolatrous. The cartoons have incited riots, deaths and burnings worldwide.

Some of the affected college campuses were Harvard University and the University of California at Irvine.

Harvard’s biweekly conservative newspaper, The Harvard Salient, printed four of the original 12 cartoons Feb. 8, along with a note from the editors saying, “Publishing materials that criticize the ways Islam has been usurped worldwide for purposes of violence and oppression is a risky, but honest and necessary, business.”

In addition to the Danish cartoons, The Salient also ran a cartoon of a swastika superimposed over a Star of David printed in al-Yawn in Saudi Arabia, and another portraying Jews killing children and drinking their blood from al-Ahram in Egypt, saying “it also deserves to be noted that as the world goes mad over the relatively innocuous Danish cartoons, truly vile cartoons continue to publish in state-run newspapers throughout the Islamic Middle East.”

The Salient received more than 100 letters in response to the reprinted cartoons.

“Our first and foremost reason for publishing the Danish cartoons was to prompt a conversation that we perceived was not happening,” said Travis Kavulla, editor of The Salient. “The Salient took a gamble. We knew the cartoons would offend Muslims on our campus. But we thought the risk was worth it because our decision would serve as a starting point for meaningful conversations.”

The Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s daily campus newspaper, chose to not publish the cartoons, but published a staff editorial in favor of The Salient’s decision to print them.

The editorial concluded, saying, “While the Salient is certainly commendable in its bold publication . The Crimson instead has chosen to express its position in a discussion of the issue, rather than a reprinting, which at this point in the controversy would neither further inform the public nor the debate.”

Carrie Andersen, a sophomore at Harvard University, had mixed opinions on the issue.

“It’s a touchy issue, but for me personally, promoting viewpoints is more important than worrying about offending others,” Andersen said. “It’s certainly not the same in other regions of the world, however, and western countries need to take that into account.”

The College Republicans, an organization meant to spread Republican values across campus at the University of California at Irvine, co-sponsored a student forum and panel discussion that displayed cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.

The Muslim Student Union asked the College Republicans prior to the forum to not display the cartoons, but was refused.

“I’m appalled that a campus in the United States would permit such racism and hatred to be spewed,” said Osman Umarji, former president of Muslim Student Union who graduated in 2005. “It’s a sign that as Americans we are losing our values and morals.”

Umarji said the event drew 1000 protesters outside the Crystal Cove Auditorium where the forum was held, but an article by Stan Wilson from CNN noted only 200.

“We held a demonstration, teach-in and press conference where we educated others about racial and religious tolerance and about who Prophet Muhammad really was,” Umarji said. “We responded to hatred and bigotry with understanding and education.”