EDITORIAL: Stop bullying students
Ousting of The North Wind's adviser is unnecessary retaliation
The Northern Michigan University student newspaper has been struggling with university administrators and the paper's board of directors. Last week, the board denied to rehire The North Wind's faculty adviser and voted not to hire the only applicant for editor-in-chief.
In recent months, The North Wind's student journalists shifted their focus to hard-hitting, investigative work. They reported stories examining the university's relationship with Starbucks, Board of Trustees spending, the number of sexual assaults on campus and other topics using the Freedom of Information Act.
The North Wind Board of Directors actions are nothing short of bullying and an attempt to impede the publication's freedoms. We at Central Michigan Life stand firmly by our fellow student journalists in support of their attempts to hold NMU's administration accountable.
When the current editor-in-chief Emma Finkbeiner was hired, the previous editor was allowed in the room and was involved in discussions.
In the April 3 meeting, The North Wind reports that the board went into an "executive session," forcing all non-voting members to leave the room. This effectively eliminated the input of staff members, even though the paper's bylaws state that the appointment of the adviser is "subject to the approval of the North Wind Board of Directors and editorial staff."
Additionally, NMU charged The North Wind $613 for a FOIA request of six administrators' emails, though it had not charged a fee previously. According reports by The Detroit News and The North Wind, the school eventually caved to public pressure and waved the fee, but the emails were sent to the publication heavily redacted.
This is not the first time a student newspaper has come under fire from the university it covers. In Feb., 2014, the Albion Pleiad was shut down for nine days after publishing a story regarding the death of an Alma student that contained inaccuracies.
In Jan., 2014, the University of Michigan failed to invite the The Michigan Daily to a press conference on former football player Brendan Gibbons, who was accused of sexual misconduct, after the newspaper released its investigation of his separation from the school.
In Dec., 2013, the Grand Valley Lanthorn released a story investigating the university's room-naming policy and its relationship to donors. As a result, its editor-in-chief received a call on her personal cell phone from administrators and a letter to the editor admonishing the staff and advising those who did not appreciate donor dollars to hand in their merit-based scholarships.
These are egregious examples of attempted censorship by university administration. Student journalists at CM Life are committed to similar investigative work. We have reported on sexual misconduct, athletics spending, athlete and faculty arrests and faculty strikes. The difference is that we did it without interference from Central Michigan University.
No student publication should have to fear retaliation from its own school for doing its job.
"I think that if the university was smart they would really just let us do our job," Finkbeiner told CM Life. "Really, I think they've just made it harder on themselves than we have."
Finkbeiner said The North Wind has been taking steps to cooperate with administration, agreeing to all meetings that get set up and implementing a corrections policy.
"By them removing our adviser and not hiring really the only qualified applicant for editor-in-chief, it's just the university showing us...that they don't like the way that we run the newspaper. They don't like to be criticized, and anybody who tries to do that is going to be retaliated against," she said.
To impede the editorial freedom of a student paper will not solve any problems. It creates a chilling effect for the entire staff and every adviser and editor-in-chief to follow.
Student publications in high schools are generally considered to be non-public forums and are subject to more control from administration. In Hazelwood v. Kramer, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a school principal can prohibit the publishing of certain content without violating students' First Amendment rights. This is partly due to the fact that many high school publications are funded and sponsored by the schools.
In their 1989 decision in Student Government Ass’n v. Board of Trustees of the University of Massachusetts, the U.S. Court of Appeals found that college journalists are not subject to the limitations placed on high school journalists.
The North Wind, like its companions around the state, is student media. That means for the students and by the students. A student publication is a learning lab meant to mold the reporters of tomorrow. How will student journalists ever improve and learn the rules of the field if their voices can be so easily stifled?
We value our relationship with CMU administration, faculty, staff and students, and are committed to fostering that relationship for years to come.
We also support The North Wind and all of our statewide companions as they continue to work to provide their students with the news they deserve.
On April 7, the Society of Professional Journalists released a statement calling for the reinstatement of Cheryl Reed, assistant professor of English, as The North Wind's adviser. If there was any doubt that the North Wind Board of Directors made a mistake, it should now be all but eliminated.
It's time for NMU to make the right call.
