THEVERMONTCYNIC THE THEVERMONT CYNIC Issue 4 - Volume 137 | September 22, 2020 | vtcynic.com
Death to student media Letter from the Editor-in-Chief “It’s a dangerous thing to start a paper.” As I read these words etched across a March 1883 edition of the Burlington Clipper, a weekly newspaper that used to run in the Queen City, the words echoed throughout my head. This line comes at the end of a bit of news. Students at the University of Vermont, just at the top of the hill, as they used to refer to the University’s campus, had passed around a circular that month saying they intended to start their own newspaper. The editors of the Clipper added the line as a bit of parting advice for the founders of what we now know as the “Vermont Cynic.” Two months after these lines were published in the Clipper, the first issue of what was known as the “University Cynic,” hit the stands. Run by the students of the University, the publication has continued to do so. But now, over a hundred years later, a publication created for students, run by students and written for students is under attack. Whispers of potential changes as to how the Cynic, WRUV and UVMTv would be advised first came in July when our adviser Chris Evans, whose sole job was to be the Student Media Adviser, left UVM after more than a decade in the position. Less than a month after our adviser’s departure, Provost Patty Prelock redesigned the advising role. The redesign, made without the input or consent of student media leaders or the Department of Student Life, moves the position to the College of Arts and Sciences where a lecturer will split their time between teaching and advising three diverse media organizations in an attempt to integrate student media with the budding Reporting and Documentary Storytelling minor. Effectively, the move puts all student media and especially the Vermont Cynic’s independence at risk. When student leaders heard the initial whispers of change, we signaled our concerns, but they fell on deaf ears. By the second week of classes, the University’s forceful takeover of independent student media was complete. Our new adviser was selected without asking us, or seeking
our input or advice. We begged for weeks to meet with the Provost to explain why the specific changes to our adviser’s role would be ultimately detrimental not only to the student media organizations, but free speech and a free press as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. The biggest concern here is an illegal practice called “prior review,” which is the most specific and probable way the administration can infringe on our right to operate independently. According to Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel for the Student Press Law Center, prior review is the practice of school officials, or anyone outside of an independent student news publication, demanding to review content before it is
published. The scariest thought however: the power that sits just overhead of our new adviser’s head. Although repeated claims have been made that this new adviser won’t be subject to administrative pressure, it’s difficult to trust this claim when the adviser answers directly to a dean of a college. When we asked the Provost why our adviser would answer to Dean Bill Falls, Provost Prelock said it was so the adviser “wouldn’t be influenced by the faculty.” It’s difficult to see how that doesn’t work from the administrative side too. What’s stopping Dean Falls from exerting his pressure on our adviser, or the will of another upper level administrator?
Instead of working hard to meet with the students most directly impacted and concerned by these changes, the Provost instead appointed this adviser without the consent of the leaders. Perhaps the most concerning change to the position is who exactly our new adviser directly reports to in their capacity as our adviser. Their supervisor is the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Bill Falls. This is a disgusting administrative abuse of power. The adviser to the independent student newspaper, reports to a high-level administrator. Just let that sink in. I write this, because when asked what guarantees she’d put in place to protect press freedoms, such as ensuring no prior review of content by
One hundred years later, a publication created for students, run by students and written for students is under attack.
faculty, staff or administrators, Prelock responded by asking for our trust saying she had no time to read our articles beforehand. How can we trust and respect administration when they don’t trust or respect us enough to offer us a seat at the table? This reorganization at its core seeks to “greater align” the three media organizations with a stronger journalism curriculum and academic program, effectively integrating student-run clubs into academia. By bringing the Cynic closer to the administration here at UVM, they are killing our more than century-long history of independence. Think state-owned media, but the college version. But specifically, aligning the independent college newspaper with one particular school and academic program leads to the possibility of greater restrictions as to who can participate and what content gets to be published. At the Cynic, we have a robust educational system that is built on real world experience. We welcome any student from any college, degree program etc, to join. If you show up, and you’re willing to put the work in to learn, we’ll teach you. We did a quick poll of the editors before this editorial went to print, and surprise surprise, not a single one is in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Reporting, Documentary, Storytelling minor, nor did they say they wanted to be. And to say our model has been unsuccessful is flat out wrong. For years, we’ve continually pumped out quality, budding journalists, from the likes of Pulitzer Prize winner Eric Lipton in the Washington D.C. New York Times office, to acclaimed Vermont Sports reporter Austin Danforth, Aviva Loeb at the Washington Post, community news reporter Bridget Higdon who has found a home at the Colchester Sun, Mariel Wamsley at the New York Timesto Natalie Williams a dedicated journalist at the Bangor Daily News. We produce top notch journalists and have some of Vermont’s most promising up and coming journalists in our midst right now. The University’s forceful placing of a square in a round peg simply doesn’t work. Story continued on page 1