PHOENIX - A sex column that ran in NAU's student newspaper, The Lumberjack, instructing readers on how to perform oral sex on their valentine, has drawn public criticism and led university officials to schedule a meeting with the school's publication board.

The Feb. 12 article by student writer Claire Fuller gave instructions on how to perform fellatio and cunnilingus. It wasn't long before the paper's editors were bombarded with complaints from angry readers who said the article was too explicit, said Sarah Bell, Lumberjack editor in chief.

"Ever since it was published, it has been a flood of letters and e-mails," Bell said. While the article sent up "red flags" when Bell approved it, she felt the titillating tips weren't unsuitable for campus readers.

"If people think maturely discussing sex in a university paper is inappropriate, they are way off base," Bell said.

A scathing letter from Northern Arizona University president John Haeger was distributed throughout campus earlier this week. In the letter, Haeger condemned the article and called on the paper to re-examine the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics.

"As president, I am going on record to note my own - and evidence suggests the broader university community's - disappointment and embarrassment at the publication of this article," Haeger said in the letter.

Haeger and other high-ranking university officials have scheduled a March 9 meeting with the publication board and Lumberjack staff. University officials want to discuss the paper's ethics and bylaws and find out what role The Lumberjack's faculty adviser has in reviewing content, said Liz Grobsmith, NAU provost.

"We want to know what kind of dialogue is happening with faculty mentors when they make judgments on what they put in the paper," Grobsmith said.

Grobsmith said a major concern was that The Lumberjack is distributed throughout the entire Flagstaff community and could have been easily read by a child.

"I personally think it's out of line. I don't see what value it brought," Grobsmith said. "I think there are a lot more topics of interest worth writing about than how to perform oral sex."

Although he wasn't aware of how graphic the article was, Lumberjack faculty adviser Rob Breeding said he supports the decisions of the student editors to run the article.

"It is not productive for me as an adviser to start second-guessing the student editors," Breeding said. "That doesn't mean I agree with the column, but I don't agree with a lot of what goes in the paper."

Breeding has since drafted a list of editorial guidelines he will suggest to the paper's editorial board.

Like the Arizona Daily Wildcat, The Lumberjack is an independent student-run paper where student editors make the final decision on what gets printed. The Arizona Daily Wildcat runs two weekly sex columns: "Under Covers," a column by opinions editor Caitlin Hall, and "Sex Talk," a long-running paid advertisement from Campus Health Service that answers students' sex questions.

Saul Loeb, Wildcat editor in chief, said The Lumberjack's article would not have made it into the Wildcat.

"We wouldn't run something that blatant," Loeb said.

Breeding and Bell both suggested that the administration's motivations could be retribution for the newspaper's coverage of NAU's administration and the divisive topic of restructuring that has ruled the headlines this year.

"We have kept very good tabs on the administration this year and I think that has probably upset them. This gives them all the more reason to take action," Bell said.

The upcoming meeting has sparked concern in The Lumberjack newsroom; the bulk of it centers on fears of administrative intervention or outright censorship, Bell said.

"I think people realize the grave effects of censorship," she said.

Grobsmith said the administration is not looking to censor the paper, but instead hopes to reaffirm its adherence to a code of ethics.

"Good judgment would not have been to put something like that in the paper," Grobsmith said.

While student editors have the freedom to make executive decisions on the newspaper's content, they must also consider the potential backlash from sensitive topics, said Mark Woodhams, UA director of student media and adviser to the Wildcat.

"There is nothing in the Arizona Constitution or the United States Constitution that would prevent a student from writing an article of that nature," he said. "That doesn't mean they won't face criticism for it."