Kyle Evers and Vincent Saglimbeni: Student Press Freedom Day worthy of celebration

By Kyle Evers and Vincent Saglimbeni

As the editors-in-chief for two of Spokane’s university student newspapers, Feb. 24 has special meaning for us. It is Student Press Freedom Day, and it leads us to reflect on the essential role that student press has played in our academic lives and the lives of the communities we serve.

Getting hands-on experience with the learning environment that is a student newspaper has provided us with more opportunities than either of us imagined possible. Between our two newspapers, we’ve covered social movements, administrative changes, academic challenges and the best Division I and Division III basketball in the country. (OK, we’re biased.) We’ve told countless stories of students who have created, innovated, persevered and accomplished much. These experiences have not only enriched our present but have set up our future.

As leaders, we have the privilege of leading amazing staffs of reporters, photographers, designers and more. We help them navigate the world of journalism and we make the tough decisions. Most importantly, we both do this work at private universities, where the First Amendment freedom of press afforded our counterparts at public universities is not in play.

We consider ourselves blessed to be at institutions with no policy of prior review. We have the guidance of advisers who provide support, but do not interfere with our editorial processes. We have the ability to make the decisions we believe best serve our audiences and our staffs. Administrators may not always agree with our decisions, but they respect our right to make them and trust that we will use the power of the press only for the benefit of our communities.

Not all student newspapers are so lucky. We are particularly aware of the continuing situation at Texas A&M’s student newspaper, the Battalion. The student editors at the 129-year-old newspaper were abruptly informed by the university’s president and dean of students on Feb. 10 that they would no longer be allowed to print. The administrators announced the newspaper would shift to a digital-only model, a decision made with no input from the students, advisers or readers of the newspaper. While pushback from national organizations like FIRE and the College Media Association has led the university to allow the paper to continue print production through the end of the academic year, the damage done to that publication’s autonomy is significant.

An autonomous, free student press has never been more important. We need student journalists today and in the future to be able to continue to hold those in positions of leadership and power accountable for their actions and provide a platform for dialogue on the issues most important to our campus communities. As student journalists, we are very in touch with the problems and issues that are addressing our generation today. From ongoing issues of mental health and acts of racism in the U.S., student journalists have the fingers on the pulse of some of the most important topics today.

Student press is more than a simple extracurricular activity. It is a critical lens through which students like ourselves learn about the most important check within our system of governance. It’s the lens through which we learn to seek factual truth in a world of conspiracy and twisted words. It’s the lens through which voice is given to the voiceless and a platform from which to do justice.

If student press at a public institution like Texas A&M can have its autonomy so quickly stripped away, then student press at private institutions like ours might have true cause to worry. But we do not. We commend the administrators at Gonzaga and Whitworth for affirming the value of a free and flourishing student press. We call on other private institutions to do the same – create an environment where their student media can fearlessly address the needs of its student community and embrace the rich range of learning and responsibility that comes with such an experience.

Student journalism will continue to be present in everyday life, and we are thankful to be part of the unique group of people that are student journalists. On this and all Student Press Freedom Days, we celebrate the enlightening, exciting and exhilarating experience that is student journalism with all our fellow student publications across the country.

Kyle Evers, a junior from Richland, is editor-in-chief of the Whitworthian. Vincent Saglimbeni, a senior from San Jose, California, is editor-in-chief of the Gonzaga Bulletin.