To the Editor:
After 85 years of publication, The University News has been given an ultimatum: comply with a new charter or move entirely off campus and change its name.
The timing of this ultimatum is no accident. Our student body’s attention is focused on impending finals and the fast-approaching summer break. The editorial body of the paper is in a transitional period, with the current staff finishing their term and the new staff lacking a foothold. Also, unofficial faculty adviser Avis Meyer plans on taking a sabbatical next term, eliminating a trusted guide’s presence on campus.
If the paper chooses to remain affiliated with SLU, its new charter would allow SLU administrators a final say over the appointment and dismissal of every member of The U News editorial board and staff. The resulting newspaper would undeniably be devoid of articles that reflect negatively on SLU’s administrative policy; its staff would operate under a constant fear of dismissal should they choose to print anything that any SLU administrator considers cause for removal. What good is a paper that is afraid to print what should be printed?
Article III of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics states that “journalists must be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know the truth.” If SLU administrators have power over their fate, the staff of The U News would have an obligation not to its public, but to the watchful eye of those above them wielding total power.
This predicament goes beyond the concept of “freedom of press,” even at a private university in the heart of the Midwest. Whether an institution is public or private, religiously affiliated or secular, students have opinions. Such opinions are manifest throughout SLU’s urban campus. Fliers are plastered on bulletin boards and advertise fundraisers for causes sponsored by various organizations. During the annual “die-in,” students protest war by lying down around campus. During abortion awareness week, the quad is converted into a cemetery.
The University News, the student voice of SLU since 1921, has been a means for students to express themselves, as well. It provides a medium for people to speak out about what they believe in and for what they feel is right. It serves as a source of information for those who want to keep up-to-date on SLU’s goings-on. It is an educational tool for those who aspire toward a career in journalism. The U News is an invaluable asset to everyone on this campus.
Admittedly, articles are published that may offend some people, but that has always been the nature of journalism. We do not know anyone who agrees whole-heartedly with everything printed in the paper. We do not think that that is expected (or even desired) by anyone who has ever contributed anything to The U News. It is a medium of expression, and expression is seldom completely welcomed with open arms.
It is upsetting when a student venue is devalued-especially one which has coexisted with the University since before the Great Depression, before Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, before Native Americans could be both American citizens and tribal members simultaneously, and before WWII. The University News is only one year younger than women’s suffrage and prohibition.
We all form opinions of what we see happening around us. Lacking a physical means to communicate our messages shall do little to deter that phenomenon. Today we have more resources than ever before. When we feel strongly about something we can post our thoughts on the Internet and get the word out to more people who will be more apt to listen. We can talk to our friends and let them know what we think. The outcry from former and current SLU students on Facebook about this very subject is evidence of this.
Whether The University News is university-funded, student-run, or nonexistent, an administrative caveat will not stop the spread of ideas, thoughts and beliefs. Nor will it mar the unwavering passion that is unique among university students.
Today’s students and U News writers are tomorrow’s opinion leaders. What we think, say and do shapes the lives of those who will succeed us. We will not stop standing up for what we believe in. We may find ourselves silenced in some regards, but we will find a way to express what we have to say.
George Washington said, “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” And so, with the potential end of The U News’ relationship with SLU in the near future, we would like to wish them the best of luck in assuring that the students of Saint Louis University continue to have access to an unregulated medium that is not afraid to say what it wants and needs to say.
Ryan Yost and Jenna Steege
SLU Students
