Just the facts, but whose facts? College newspapers face student ire.
| Cambridge, Mass.
When Harvard freshman Ellie Hamilton thinks of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), she thinks of harsh, headline-grabbing immigration tactics 鈥� such as the family separation policy.
While the agency is often criticized for being overfunded and abusive in its own facilities, ICE is not, in fact, responsible for detaining children at the border听(Customs and Border Protection is).听Asked why she鈥檇 never heard of the agency鈥檚 other responsibilities 鈥� things like fighting drug trafficking and terrorism 鈥� Ms. Hamilton says she leans left, consumes like-minded news, and rarely seeks out the other side.听
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much news out there that we kind of select the ones that just echo what our views are already,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 kind of hard to even think that there are other views that are just so contrary to what I think.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
How do journalists protect a free press in an era when the job is misunderstood? That鈥檚 playing out on campuses, where listening to the other side is regarded by many as being complicit. It鈥檚 also one of the principles of journalistic fairness.
At Harvard and other campuses, the preference for information that supports already held beliefs is challenging press freedoms. More than 1,000 students signed a petition to boycott their student paper, The Crimson, for trying to present both sides of an immigration debate. After covering a campus 鈥渁bolish ICE鈥� rally in September, the paper requested comment from the agency 鈥� a decision some say put student activists at risk.听
Entrenched viewpoints and increasing criticism of media outlets have converged on college campuses. Student journalists are weighing freedom of the press and the expectations of the communities they serve. If a person, group, or issue is perceived as a threat, does that disqualify the subject from media coverage? If readers think certain groups don鈥檛 deserve a voice, does listening to that group make journalists complicit?
鈥淎 lot of people 鈥� [think] students on campus today are snowflakes,鈥� says Kathleen Bartzen Culver, a professor of journalism ethics at the University of Wisconsin. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 see it that way,鈥� she adds. 鈥淚 see this within that larger context of many, many people wanting journalism to be on their side. They want it to reinforce their worldview.鈥�
Certainly, student-run papers have been caught up in eras of turmoil dating back at least to the Vietnam War. And the widespread lack of understanding today about how reporters do their jobs extends well beyond college students. But the question of how best to balance learning their craft while extending empathy, particularly to marginalized groups, is one student journalists are grappling with at colleges and universities across the country. And it鈥檚 taking place at a time when campus newspapers, like the press broadly, are facing existential budget crises and from their own universities.
The campus newspaper at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, faced blowback from students when reporters at the Daily Northwestern covered a Nov. 5 appearance of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and protests of his visit. In that case, the student journalists apologized 鈥� sparking deep consternation among professional journalists who pointed out that covering a public event is one of the most fundamental tasks of reporting.
The criticism directed at campus newspapers at Northwestern and Harvard fits into a broader pattern of suppression of speech by students, particularly by those on the far left and right:听
- On Oct. 23, students at the University of Pennsylvania shouted down Thomas Homan, a former acting director of ICE, ending his panel discussion on immigration policy before it could begin.
- At Boston University, about 200 students protested conservative pundit Ben Shapiro鈥檚 Nov. 13 lecture on campus. An online petition decrying his visit received more than 2,200 signatures.
- Members of a far-right group heckled Donald Trump Jr. off the stage during a Nov. 10 appearance at the University of California, Los Angeles, after he said he wouldn鈥檛 take questions.
The Northwestern case spotlights a challenge听faced by student journalists today. Many of their peers consider certain opinions inherently harmful, which would prevent covering all sides of a story. Campus newspapers feel caught between the code of ethics of their craft or loyalty to a large portion of their student bodies.听
Northwestern students censured the paper for its coverage of Mr. Sessions鈥� visit. When the paper published an apology letter promising 鈥渞eform and reflection,鈥� professional journalists criticized the Daily Northwestern for hypersensitivity. Charles Whitaker, dean of the Medill School of Journalism, issued a statement defending the student reporters, who he said were subject to 鈥渧icious bullying and badgering鈥� for 鈥渢he 鈥榮in鈥� of doing journalism.鈥� The apology, however, 鈥渟ends a chilling message about journalism and its role in society. It suggests that we are not independent authors of the community narrative, but are prone to bowing to the loudest and most influential voices in our orbit.鈥�
Instead of apologizing, the Harvard Crimson doubled down on traditional ethics. In a note to readers, the paper鈥檚 editors defended their 鈥渂elief that every party named in a story has a right to comment or contest criticism leveled against them.鈥� Still, the petition continued adding signatures, and on Nov. 10, Harvard鈥檚 Undergraduate Council voted to 鈥淸stand] in solidarity鈥� with the student group that started the boycott.听
This kind of stonewall, experts say, is often worse for activists than it is for reporters 鈥� setting a dangerous precedent and distracting from protesters鈥� real message.
Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel at the Student Press Law Center in Washington,听D.C., asks students boycotting The Crimson to consider what reporters should do if they were to cover a new ICE policy. Should they request comment from pro-immigration groups?听听
鈥淚f [activists don鈥檛 provide comment] because they are somehow trying to punish The Crimson,鈥� he says, 鈥渢hey鈥檙e really just punishing their own communities and their own efforts to try and have their voices heard.鈥�
The example of ICE
The specific debate over ICE also shows that isolation can lead to misunderstanding.听
October polling from Pew Research Center labeled ICE the only government agency with a higher unfavorable than favorable rating, at 54% to 42%. Experts say this animus toward ICE 鈥� not limited to college campuses 鈥� reveals wider frustration with U.S. immigration policy, which the agency has come to embody.听
Part of what fuels this resentment, says Faiza Patel, co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice鈥檚 Liberty & National Security Program听in New York, are two common misconceptions: All immigration enforcement is carried out by ICE, and ICE鈥檚 only role is immigration enforcement. The agency also limits cross-border criminal activity and terrorism. But Ms. Patel says its role in arrests and deportations 鈥� especially under the more 鈥渂rutal鈥� policies of the Trump administration 鈥� is more visible and thus a magnet for discontent.
鈥淏eing kind of the front-line agency that people see doing things,鈥� she says, 鈥淸ICE] naturally is the focus of this unhappiness.鈥澨�
Richard Rocha, a spokesman for ICE, says the agency doesn鈥檛 make the rules, it just enforces them. 鈥淥ne of the hardest things for ICE is that there are so many misconceptions about the work that we do,鈥� he says, adding that their goal is to 鈥渕ake sure that the public is safe.鈥澨�
ICE wants to address those misconceptions with the public directly, Mr. Rocha says, and stonewalling the agency does those willing to listen a 鈥渉uge disservice.鈥�
On Harvard鈥檚 campus
Harvard senior Cecilia Nu帽ez, president of the Phillips Brooks House Association, a community service group that signed The Crimson petition, says it鈥檚 important to stay informed, but students鈥� feelings of safety should take precedence. When it comes to The Crimson, she says she expects a more nuanced approach and 鈥渕aking sure that 鈥� getting both sides of a story doesn鈥檛 come with putting people at risk and putting people at danger.鈥�
Other students, such as Harvard senior Gabe Fox-Peck, disagree. 鈥淭he best arguments take into account the counterargument,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that just speaking to an oppositional force, even if it鈥檚 dangerous, is a problem. I think that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�
For her part, Ms. Hamilton, the Harvard freshman, just wants a 鈥渕iddle ground.鈥� Learning more about ICE didn鈥檛 end her disagreements with the agency, or U.S. immigration policy, but it did show her where those disagreements lay. She thinks a neutral news outlet 鈥� one that doesn鈥檛 just tell her what she wants to hear 鈥� would help remove those 鈥渂linders,鈥� for her and the country.听
鈥淚f people did tune into that,鈥� she says, 鈥渢hen we wouldn鈥檛 have such polarized viewpoints.鈥�
Staff writers Riley Robinson and Dwight Weingarten contributed to this report.
