SYRACUSE - Syracuse University has appointed a special panel to consider the reinstatement of a student-run television station shut down last month because one of its shows regularly aired offensive content, including racial and sexual slurs.

The private hearing will be conducted Friday before three tenured faculty members selected by Associate Provost Sandra Hurd, Syracuse spokesman Kevin Morrow said.

“This is an unusual situation with unusual circumstances that fall outside the university judicial system,” Morrow said.

Following a campus outcry, Chancellor Nancy Cantor last month revoked the status of HillTV as an official student organization and closed the 30-year-old student-run station to protect the interests of the university community. Cantor cited HillTV's violation of the university's Code of Student Conduct and nondiscrimination policy.

The station's Web site described “Over the Hill” as a mock news show in the vein of Comedy Central's “The Daily Show,” with Jon Stewart. It invited people to “watch, get informed, and get offended.” The show made light of issues such as eating disorders, date rape and lynching while offering vulgar comments about women and attacking specific ethnic groups and individuals, including Cantor.

The half-hour show has been available on the Internet for about a year but this semester it began broadcasting on the Orange Television Network, which is accessible in campus buildings.

The controversy boiled over after the student newspaper ran an article on the show Oct. 18. The next day more than 200 people attended a campus meeting to criticize the show. A day later, another forum drew more than 1,000 people - including some who defended the show citing First Amendment protections to free speech and who criticized Syracuse administrators for overreacting.

Because Syracuse is a private university, administrators there said they do not have the same constitutional limitations in censoring student media found at public institutions.

HillTV General Manager Rich Levy, a junior from Leominster, Mass., appealed for reinstatement on Oct. 25 with Dean of Students Anastasia Urtz, who scheduled Friday's hearing.

Attorney David Cole, who will serve as the station's procedural adviser during Friday's hearing, said “Over the Hill” was just one of many shows on HillTV and it was unfair to punish the entire station, which also has sports and news departments and involves more than 200 students.

“To hold an entire station accountable for the actions of a few producers is rather extreme,” Cole said.

The station had already canceled the show and was taking other internal steps when the administration stepped in, Cole said.

Cole said there also should have been more formalized hearings and input from the station before revoking the organization's status.

“Emotions on campus were high and it appears the chancellor was swept up in the emotional tumult. She overstepped her authority and disregarded the protections guaranteed to student organizations,” he said.

Morrow said a member of the Chancellor's Cabinet will present the complaint against HillTV at Friday's hearing. HillTV will be represented by two student members and Cole, but only the students will be permitted to speak.

Morrow said the panel will issue a written decision that will be made public. Morrow said he expected that decision would not be forthcoming until sometime next week.