Julia Garrison
News Editor
Amid Student Press Freedom Day (Feb. 22), I found myself reflecting on the power of the press and the responsibility I hold as a student journalist. We live in a world where college newspapers are falling prey to aggressive budget cuts, especially at small schools, to account for deficits –– either collapsing completely or going digital, making it more difficult for the campus community and the community at-large to access important information.
These roadblocks have tormented our neighbors –– like Ashland University’s The Collegian, which faced scrutiny from administrators when their advisor’s contract was not renewed after alleged claims that his teachings of aggressive investigative journalism targeted administrators. The Collegian was then put under extreme watch from administrators as they began monitoring the newspaper’s publishing. Baldwin Wallace’s The Exponent’s print edition was on the chopping block amid the University’s budget cuts.
Now, more than ever, campus communities need a reputable streamline of information. Whether it is to decode cryptic messages from administrators, understand why something is happening on campus or simply to know more about the place they live in, the community deserves a resource that is reliable and without bias.
The unraveling of Ashland University’s newspaper into a surveilled publication by administration is absolutely unacceptable. The community of Ashland has the right to understand how their administration works — and administrators should not crack under the pressure of their actions being put under a microscope and punish the newspaper in this way. Their actions are, after all, meant to support the student body, faculty and staff. If the administrators are uncomfortable with complete and utter transparency, then perhaps they should look inward to how their office has operated historically. Now is a good time for change.
The Voice at Wooster has covered some large topics this year –– three major protests, administrative concerns and historical deep-dives from Special Collections. We are lucky to have a place where students can hone their skills in journalism — whatever that might look like. We have reporters focused on sports, the arts, science and investigative endeavors spearheaded by the news team. We work as a unit and as a team. Reading the coverage by Inside Higher Education about Ashland’s current state is concerning. The editorial staff discusses how drained they are as a collective and how they have watched others’ passion for journalism disappear. I cannot help but wonder if small schools like Wooster are next on that list.
News writing can be exhausting and draining. Adding a level of surveillance adds no comfort to the job of an unpaid student editor who might already be struggling to find writers and stories. It conflates any sort of trust laid out between the administration and the rest of campus. This is not the correct way to handle disagreements in coverage.
Student Press Freedom Day offers student journalists a chance to understand their important place in the world of journalism. At the same time, students can only do so much. Administrators also need to understand the role that they hold in the world of journalism on their campuses and continue to support these voices and foster positive relationships with reporters and the general student body. They will be more well-liked if they decide to do so.
