By Signal Editorial Board
Newspapers have a devotion to the audience they serve; there is no purpose for the pages unless it’s to inform others. However, recent federal actions have impacted students across the country.
Student visas have been revoked, those who speak out against Israel have been deported and the United States Department of Education has threatened universities with lists of demands to clamp down on free speech in the name of reducing antisemitism.
College newspapers have been tasked with reporting on the ever-changing day-to-day news cycle that began on Inauguration Day, producing stories about how federal policies are impacting their campuses.
College media is crucial to keeping a campus community informed, and having an entity on its campus that works around the clock to report on important developments across the school community is vital.
However, that may soon become much more difficult.
These life-changing events being brought against students and the country as a whole have ignited a coalition of national student media advisory organizations to call on college newspapers earlier this month to consider updating guidance on journalistic practices that involve anonymous sources and takedown requests, warning that college newsrooms should be open to change editorial practices that have historically limited the use of these two components.
The coalition — comprised of the Associated Collegiate Press, Journalism Education Association, College Media Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Quill & Scroll, and the Student Press Law Center — issued its warning after a recent uptick in college students and alumni requesting college newsrooms to take down past articles that may tie them to activities that the Trump administration could see as a reason for revoking a visa or deportation.
As the warning call from the organizations will be interpreted differently by college newspapers across the country, they’ll have to choose whether to ignore the events that have happened in the country or continue to highlight students’ stories.
The significance of a news organization’s work helps build the foundation of a community by informing others of events that will affect them, showing them that their work doesn’t go unnoticed and preserving parts of a campus’s history. Student reporters should remember the true intent of their efforts as uncertainties are unfolding in different aspects of American society.
The Signal, along with all other professional newsrooms across the nation, upholds a set of values and ethical standards that we follow when conducting our reporting. These guidelines help us to be transparent and reduce harm against any individual.
While we are a proponent of fact-based, transparent reporting that tells the whole story, we recognize that there may be times when reporting on particular topics could lead to students on our campus facing irreparable harm from the federal government.
Because of this, The Signal will be examining its policies closely as we navigate the weeks and months ahead so that we can properly serve the campus community while also protecting the campus community.
