On Sept. 13, Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez was fired as editor-in-chief of The Mercury, the student-run news publication at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). Lydia Lum, UTD’s director of student media, pushed for Olivares’ termination because he allegedly violated student media bylaws on three separate counts. The Mercury’s management team found a lack of sufficient evidence for each of these claims, and on Sept. 15, their staff went on strike to demand his reinstatement.
In the five days following, the award-winning 44-year-old paper was dissolved by its own employees. The Mercury said that the reason for its strike was “UTD administration’s punitive and retaliatory actions against The Mercury’s coverage and leadership since the May 1 encampment arrests.” These actions included severely impacting employee pay structure, demoting their previous advisor, etc.
The purpose of journalism is to empower citizens to make informed voting decisions. That is the responsibility of the news, the reason it was created and the reason it will continue to exist, despite any and all efforts to thwart it.
Editorial independence has never been more important. Our columns and articles alike reflect the actual problems and happenings of the students of Trinity University. With collegiate journalists facing unprecedented challenges across the country, being arrested and silenced, it has never been more vital to support student media in all its forms.
After The Mercury’s closure, it was reborn as The Retrograde, a testament to the resilience of collegiate journalists. This wasn’t just a ‘name change:’ It was a message to UTD administrators that their efforts to quash the freedom of the press have failed. This rebirth speaks volumes about the power of our voices. Journalism will always find a way to persist, to adapt and to thrive in times of crisis. To The Retrograde: we at the Trinitonian stand with you in solidarity.
At Trinity, we understand that standing with our fellow student journalists is not just an act of solidarity but a reaffirmation of the principles we uphold as journalists. We share the same mission: to provide our peers with transparent, thoughtful coverage of the issues that affect our lives. The editors of the Trinitonian stand with The Retrograde because we know that when one student paper is threatened, it is a threat to us all. It is more than just a fight to keep a publication alive — it is a fight for the freedom of speech, for the right to report without fear and for the future of journalism itself.
With that in mind, we are proud to present this special section dedicated to the upcoming election. This is why we exist as a publication: to provide our readers with the information they need to make informed decisions. We are here to serve, to empower and to uphold the very purpose of journalism itself. Welcome to our election coverage — because informing you, the voters and our community, is at the core of everything we do.
