On May 7, roughly 100 people gathered at Columbia University’s Butler Library for a pro-Palestinian protest, with student reporters from various campus media organizations present to cover the day’s events. This included student journalists from the Columbia Spectator — Columbia’s independent daily newspaper — the undergraduate-run Blue and White magazine, radio station WKCR and the Columbia Journalism School.

Due to drastic actions by university and security officials, many of these student journalists were consistently denied access to areas crucial to their reporting, and in some cases, even experienced threats or physical harm. Such blatant disrespect for journalism is abhorrent, especially given the Trump administration’s attacks on freedom of the press at the national level. 

As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In much the same way, a threat to freedom of the press anywhere is a threat to freedom of the press everywhere. Accordingly, it was only right for us at the Daily Trojan to join Duke University’s The Chronicle and other student newspapers including the Daily Pennsylvanian, the Daily Tar Heel, The Exponent and the Daily Emerald in support of the Spectator’s call for Columbia and Barnard College to respect their student journalists.

How student journalism was impacted

Soon after the protesters rushed into the main reading room of Butler Library on the afternoon of May 7, Columbia Public Safety officers attempted to secure the building and contain those trying to leave without providing identification. From the chaotic conflict that ensued, officers from the New York Police Department ended up arresting 78 Columbia students, with many student journalists at the scene unjustly caught in the action. 

According to the Spectator, one of its photographers who got trapped in a crowd crush tried to make it clear to safety officials that she was a journalist by showing her press pass. However, an officer still gripped her arm so tightly that it bruised and choked her with an arm to the neck. 

Public Safety officers also blocked reporters from witnessing much of the protest and their response to it. 

Inside the library, officers barred reporters from entering the reading room where protesters were present. Meanwhile, on the ground floor, officers blocked student journalists from seeing and entering an area where officers had dragged an individual whom they had previously pinned to the ground. 

Like Columbia’s Public Safety officers, the NYPD — invited by Columbia’s administration — also repeatedly disrespected student journalists and the freedom of the press. 

After a Spectator videographer asked if their fellow Spectator reporters could be allowed past a police barricade, an NYPD officer threatened to revoke the videographer’s press card — a credential that is supposed to allow journalists past police lines. 

Outside campus, NYPD officers shoved two Spectator reporters out of their way, even though they carried press badges and had introduced themselves as journalists to police personnel numerous times. 

NYPD officers treated student journalists with hostility by repeatedly yelling at them and forcibly moving them to areas from which they could not properly cover the ongoing developments. By taking such actions, both Public Safety and NYPD officers prevented student reporters from fulfilling their journalistic duties, as they could not report on what they could not observe. 

As Spectator editor in chief Shea Vance and managing editor Heather Chen lamented in their Letter from the Editors, “for the second time in just over a year, we found ourselves unable to fully document a historic moment for our campus.” 

To make matters worse, Columbia and Barnard also penalized multiple student journalists with interim suspensions for their mere presence at the protests, even though they all identified themselves as members of the press and their reporting from the day was evident. Although Columbia and Barnard ultimately lifted the reporters’ suspensions shortly afterward, the institutions said they reserved the right to take disciplinary actions regarding the incident against students in the future, which is incredibly harrowing. 

The problem

While Columbia’s disciplining of student protesters already raises concerns about freedom of speech, the unbridled targeting of journalists proves especially troubling. The restrictions on these student reporters send the message that it was not only unacceptable to be a protester, but that it was unacceptable to bring these protests light and visibility within the Columbia community. 

In an effort to crack down on such demonstrations, Columbia and Barnard are exhibiting a tactic set by countless authoritarian political regimes throughout history: making it seem like resistance is simply not happening. 

Political expression can be controversial, but that doesn’t diminish its importance. There is a reason why journalism remains the only profession enshrined in the Bill of Rights; it’s a testament to the utmost value that freedom of the press holds to democracy. 

Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January, there has been a direct attack on the free press, showcased by the Federal Communications Commission’s investigation into several media organizations and the White House hand-selecting a pool of reporters for the first time ever. 

Columbia, like USC, is one of many institutions that have bowed down to the demands of the Trump administration after being threatened by a substantial loss of funding. Ultimately, Columbia completely overhauled its previous protest policies under pressure from the Trump administration. 

University administrators have claimed to remain committed to free speech, but changes the university implemented as outlined in a letter from Columbia’s Office of the President — including banning protests in academic buildings and “places necessary for the conduct of University activities,” adding an identification requirement for all protesters, and hiring 36 special officers with arrest and removal powers — have led to not only a loss of academic integrity, but also journalistic freedom. 

The press passes worn by the student journalists were completely ignored, even when directly shown to Public Safety officers and NYPD. The university failed to communicate the extent to which police and security personnel would seize the campus, creating a hostile environment that led to multiple instances of brutality against students. 

However, these physical restrictions aren’t the only ones with lasting effects. Between the recent protests and last spring’s pro-Palestinian solidarity encampments, universities have set a new precedent regarding the treatment of student journalists not only at Columbia, but at countless other college campuses that have experienced similar events. There now exists an inherent fear of retribution for any student journalist whose job requires them to cover demonstrations and share information opposed by their administration. 

This reality is especially worrying because the only way for a people to truly be free is to be informed, whether at the national, state or college level. However, when journalists aren’t seen as an integral part of their institution, they lose the respect they need — and deserve — to perform their ground-breaking reporting, obstructing them from keeping the public informed. Harming freedom of press harms the freedom of all of us, too.

Working toward a better future

In order to preserve the trust between students and their universities, students’ voices must be heard honestly and without interference. When student journalists are afraid of penalization from administration during times of conflict, the truth of the student experience is lost and university leadership can avoid accountability to their community. 

To prevent further mistrust between administrators and students, universities across the country must ensure the autonomy of student journalists acting as voices on behalf of student bodies.

It’s important to keep in mind that no solution will be perfectly fit for every circumstance. The best way for universities to protect freedom of the press is through ongoing conversation and collaboration with their student bodies and their communities. Based on consistent input from such key groups, universities can implement necessary changes to truly respect freedom of press, tailored to their campus’ needs.

Preventative initiatives could include creating and maintaining a clear protocol for university personnel to distinguish a member of the press from other students present. Universities should adopt a system by which student journalists can make their press status clear with more obvious markers than just press passes. Doing so could mean their press status isn’t as easily overlooked as it was for the journalists at Columbia.

With organizations often planning their protests in advance and circulating the information to achieve a higher turnout, universities can cooperate with law enforcement to not only identify student journalists beforehand but also set up designated safe zones for student journalists. 

But it’s crucial that safe zones are not located somewhere that is simply removed from the action. Instead, they should be at the scene, where reporters can observe what is happening, conduct interviews and be as informed as possible. As with other changes, universities should work together with student journalists to plan what sort of safe zones would work best. 

Should the situation escalate, such designated safe zones could prevent student journalists from being confused with participants, similar to what occurred at the Butler Library protest. This policy could accordingly help reporters cover events safely, without barriers to their reporting or fear of getting arrested for their involvement. 

It is also worth noting that universities must not enforce these changes as restrictions on student journalists. These options should be available to reporters who wish to use them, but there are also cases where a reporter may feel more comfortable gathering their coverage in another manner, and they should not be penalized for this. Administrators would do well to remember that limiting where and how journalists can do their job is antithetical to protecting freedom of the press.  

Beyond these changes, the Daily Trojan also endorses the Spectator’s demands outlined in its letter from the editors. 

First, Columbia must publicly acknowledge that Public Safety and NYPD officers’ actions at the Butler Library protest were harmful not only to the university’s students, but also to the surrounding community at large. 

Second, Columbia and Barnard must apologize to every previously suspended journalist and student who did not break any rules at the protest, as well as promise not to punish student journalists in the future for their reporting.  

Lastly, Columbia’s acting President Claire Shipman must interview with the Spectator to engage in necessary discourse with the student press and student body. 

At a time when freedom of the press is already being attacked on a national scale, it is more important than ever that universities uplift, rather than suppress, student journalism. Columbia and Barnard’s disrespect toward student journalists has become especially evident from the Butler Library protest, and we can only hope that these universities — and universities across the nation — learn from their mistakes and do better by student journalists moving forward.