I’ve written more pieces as managing editor than there have been issues this semester. Samara Gerstle, Trinitonian editor-in-chief, and I are always on-call to a staff of… 30? 40? I don’t even know anymore. I read, edit and fact-check thirty pieces every Monday and Tuesday, and if I slip up, the entire paper is off-track. I administer payroll, help send out newsletters, write biweekly editorials and handle staff crises. I manage conflict and train (and re-train) writers. And last Wednesday — as I’ve told anyone who’ll listen — I was in the newsroom until seven. In. The. Freaking. Morning.
So, I guess it’s fair to say that, yes: Sam and I crash out on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday every week. Did you know that basically never getting any sleep is a real bonding experience? But I’d never give it up. We do it for a reason that’s so important and so vital that I couldn’t in good conscience abandon it in favor of work-life balance. We do it to protect and maintain our constitutionally-given rights to the freedom of speech and press. We do it not just because we want to, but because we have to.
Free speech on Texan college campuses has come under attack. Senate Bill (SB) 2972, the ‘Campus Protection Act,’ took effect on Sept. 1, and it prohibits “expressive activity” between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The Texas Constitution states, verbatim, that “no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press.” None whatsoever. Yet, here we are. The law is being enforced at some public universities, and it’s indicating a larger problem with restricting freedom of speech on college campuses.
At Texas Tech, a student was expelled for exercising their right to free speech by criticizing Charlie Kirk. A Texas A&M professor was fired after discussing gender identity through the example of a purple unicorn in a children’s literature class. A professor at Texas State University was fired for allegedly inciting violence after a video of him speaking at a socialism conference was circulated on social media.
Free speech is becoming conditional on what you say and how it aligns with our legislators’ feelings, and as someone who helps run a newspaper — I’m getting really concerned. I know that typical editorials stay neutral, but how can I possibly be neutral on an issue that directly affects our ability to publish?
I’m not alone in my frustration here. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) partnered with student organizations at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin and Dallas to sue the entire UT System for enforcing the Campus Protection Act. UTD’s newspaper, The Retrograde, posted an editorial statement to their Instagram announcing the lawsuit. It said that when they first heard of the bill, they “all looked at each other with alarm.”
When I read aloud Senate Bill 2972’s details to the Trinitonian’s production night staff on Wednesday, we did the same.
Trinity has not yet enforced the act, and probably won’t. Our administration knows and is considerate of the fact that that most, if not all, of the work we do happens between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. — and I’m so incredibly grateful for that, as well as the opportunities afforded to us as a private institution. But I still hurt for my fellow student journalists across the state whose civil liberties are being violated every day.
Just like professional journalism serves as the government’s only form of accountability, student journalism is the only watchdog on college issues. Our breaking-news coverage on the “red zone” drama has eclipsed 1,700 reads online. It’s been incredibly well-received, and reading through it, you (hopefully) can’t even tell that Sam and I were mid-crash out while writing it. Coverage on SGA’s weekly meetings is a living record of history that maybe you don’t read every week, but have probably found helpful before your organization presents a funding request.
As journalists at Trinity, our ears are always on the ground, and we need your help to make sure we don’t get run over. Forward us emails that seem “insane” the second they hit your inbox. DM us on our personal Instagram accounts. Literally stop us if you see us in public and tell us your gossip. But, most importantly, we need your feedback, we need your advice and we need your words. Help us be your voice.
