The University News editorial board believes that student journalism deserves attention now more than ever, as it is both vital and vulnerable. Student journalism is not simply a campus extracurricular, but a form of protest and an avenue for enacting change through accountability. 

The University News has long stood for ethical reporting based in full context and the right to protest, especially in the face of today’s biased, hostile media landscape. That commitment guided our previous editorial, “Upholding the right to speech and solidarity for Palestinians in Gaza,” where we affirmed our responsibility to uphold journalistic integrity and fact-based reporting in the face of oppression.

Recent campus protests in solidarity with Gaza have exposed growing risks for student journalists. Many student journalists across the country were assaulted, arrested and obstructed from documenting police actions and their encampment clearances. At UCLA, four student reporters were attacked by counter-protestors despite clear press identification, blurring the line between covering dissent and being punished for it, and raising urgent questions about press safety on U.S. campuses.

In the midst of the hostility aimed at the press, university newspapers are also facing censorship. Indiana University administrators asked the independent, student-run newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student, to cease the publication of their weekly print editions and only publish seven special editions per semester in spring of 2025. These special editions were later prohibited from covering any news content. 

This fall, administrators asked IU’s former director of student media, Jim Rodenbush, to restrict what students published in these editions. Rodenbush saw this as an attack on press freedom and tried to intervene, which led to his termination on Oct. 14. The following day and two days before their Homecoming edition was set to be published, IDS staff received an email from administrators directing them to halt all print production within the week. 

Administrators and officials framed their elimination of IDS’s print editions as a “digital-first strategy,” emphasizing that their decision was due to budget concerns. Instead of publishing a special print edition as planned, IDS released a digital version, with the front page reading “CENSORED” in big red letters. Its subhead read, “This is not about print. This is about a breach of editorial independence.” 

Dictating what can and cannot be printed is a direct attack on freedom of the press. For student journalists, this impacts the work they do to keep their campus and communities informed and to hold their leadership accountable. 

The SLU student body having an independent voice is incredibly important. We are “by students, for students,” for a reason, and while The University News is grateful for the position we currently hold, our autonomy has never been a permanent guarantee. We have been given this ability through the work and fight of the generations of student journalists before us, who carved out a place for independent student journalism on this campus.

As a publication, the University News is not censored by any school oversight. Having full autonomy allows us to report on any and all things we find newsworthy. Often, these are issues that are underrepresented by larger media outlets and the most critical ones to students. 

Despite the many challenges that journalism faces today, we as an organization are unmoved and dedicated to serving our commitment to the community above all else. 

For SLU students, faculty and administration, protecting student journalists begins on our campus. We ask you to read the paper, in print and online. Send us tips, write letters to the editor and consider joining our staff. The University News isn’t a closed club, and we need you. Student publications are outlets for students to amplify voices that are often marginalized, both on and off campus. 

We keep doing this work because we must hold those in power accountable and inform our communities in the process. Student journalism is difficult, risky and often under attack, but it is also some of the most exciting, meaningful work happening on our campus. We, along with other student journalists across the country, are not done yet.