Penn State removed nearly three dozen racks containing its independent student-produced newspaper from on-campus this week because politics-related ads on the racks violated school policy.

Even if it wasn’t their intention to censor the paper, they still did,” The Daily Collegian’s editor-in-chief said.

The issue centered around the news racks that distribute The Daily Collegian’s weekly print editions. For about two years, the paper, an independent non-profit published by Collegian Inc., has sold advertisements to display on its racks around campus.

Administrators at Penn State University say they acted after the student newspaper violated rules that govern advertising and use of facilities on campus. The Daily Collegian, though, called the removal Wednesday night of its newspapers and newsstands from dozens of campus buildings,