We’re living through the era of journalism by press release. As newspapers continue to lay off reporters and shrink local coverage, large institutions, particularly universities, have become accustomed to the luxury of controlling their own narratives. Outlets do not have the staff to extend their coverage to university campuses and often rely on student newspapers to break University news. Legitimate, in-depth reporting is crucial to the free functioning of a community, and central to in-depth reporting is access.
The Campus Times is one of the largest print papers in Rochester by circulation, and covers issues that other outlets don’t — namely, campus issues that would otherwise go uncovered. Unfortunately, some at the University seem to believe they can restrict the scale of our coverage, the opinions of our editorials, and the access of our reporters. This has become a recurring pattern across various departments and organizations — and needs to stop.
Earlier in September, the CT attempted to cover an event hosted on campus by a religious organization, but when our photography editor arrived at the event, he was met with hostility. The following week the organization asked us if the CT could be barred from covering any of their future events. Another organization, after first extending an invitation to the CT, emailed to ask the CT not to cover their event.
This is unacceptable. Whether it is a fundamental misunderstanding of how newspapers operate and news reporting works, a willful ignorance of journalistic principles, or a misconception that the CT is not a real news organization and therefore can be barred from basic event coverage, we condemn these thoughts and actions.
Recently, CT also published an opinion piece on the choice to pirate textbooks due to the lack of alternatives the University offers to students faced with exorbitant textbook costs. Post-publication, the CT was met with University lawyers’ request to remove the article, which led us to question if administration truly read the article. The gist of the piece was not to endorse piracy — it was to underscore the University’s lack of attention to students who are unable to afford crucial resources when it has more than sufficient means to support them. Taking down the piece silences the voice of this author — and likely many more students who feel the same but who don’t have the means to deal with the backlash of voicing such a stance. And so, the piece remains online.
The Campus Times has continuously been barred from covering events and accessing what should be public information. In 2022, DPS forbade CT writer Justin O’Connor from covering a set of information sessions, even though they were advertised as open to students. The (at the time) Associate Dean for Student Affairs Emily Fehnel said that the presence of a reporter would stop students from speaking their minds in the sessions, but when O’Connor tried to compromise Fehnel stopped responding, and the sessions went uncovered.
In a step forward, the new DPS chief, Quchee Collins, agreed this week to an interview with the CT’s Data Editor, Narm Nathan, for a profile. To accurately and truthfully inform the student body, it is integral that the CT has open and unhampered access to information, and that we are not stonewalled from events that deserve coverage. Under the new administration, DPS is showing a positive change — one towards transparency, one that we hope other University departments and organizations soon follow.
As a student newspaper, we cover events that mainstream media do not. Our status as student journalists does not undermine our legitimacy as an investigative outlet and news source. Going forward, we need to have access to the information we need to do our jobs.
The Editorial Board is an Opinions article representing the view of the Campus Times, co-written by Editor-in-Chief Allie Tay, Publisher Micah Bettenhausen, Managing Editors Helena Feng and Sherene Yang, Opinions Editors Finn Abbey and Eva Naik, News Editor Natalie Opdahl, and Features Editor Emmely Eli Texcucano.
