College journalists wrestle with transparency as students fear deportation for speaking out

Boston Globe

25-04-2025

Other student journalists on college campuses across the country are fielding similar requests. They are being asked to remove previously published content amid the Trump administration's crackdown on student protesters, fears of deportation for international students and what critics have described as unprecedented attacks on campus speech.
Many young editors are beginning to reconsider long-standing journalistic practices around transparency to protect the people who appear in their reports. It's happening amid a climate of fear on campuses that is causing certain students to be reluctant to speak out publicly.
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Fears of deportation lead to a reassessment of transparency
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These dramatic shifts in student media escalated after
And Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist, was arrested in March and has been held in a Louisiana detention center for more than six weeks.
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Meanwhile, more than 1,000 students at 160 colleges, universities and university systems have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since late March, according to an Associated Press review. The federal government has since announced it will reverse the termination of legal status for international students after many filed court challenges, a government lawyer said Friday.
The need to consider high-stakes safety risks has increased pressure on students in newsrooms that are meant to be learning labs for future journalists.
Emma Wozniak, editor-in-chief of The Lantern at Ohio State University, where 12 students had their visas revoked, said it's 'taken a mental toll' on staff members.
'We feel an enormous pressure to do the right thing because the stakes are higher and we don't want to put anyone in danger,' she said. 'It's terrifying to think that something we put out into the world could have such a devastating impact on someone. And so we take that very seriously.'
A chilling effect on campus journalism
Earlier this month, the Student Press Law Center and other media rights groups issued guidance urging student journalists to be more flexible about requests to take down content.
'This is something we've never, ever done before,' said Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel for the center. 'It's unprecedented. But we felt it was important to respond to what we were hearing from students.'
Hiestand said he's seen a surge in calls from student journalists facing requests to take down content, remove bylines or offer anonymous sourcing. Some of the calls have been from international students concerned about how to protect themselves while working in campus newsrooms. Many, fearing legal repercussions, have decided to retract their names in the bylines of published articles or opinion pieces.
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'People are really concerned, really fearful,' he said.
The Stanford Daily has seen multiple staff members step away from editing positions or from covering certain stories related to the Israel-Hamas war or President Donald Trump's campaign to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Reich said.
Certain students 'scared to have their stories told'
Since returning to the White House, Trump, a Republican, has threatened funding for universities over what he calls 'wokeness' and diversity efforts in education, and he has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him.
The Stanford Daily published a letter from the editor in April addressing a 'chilling effect we've noticed on campus and the fear of speaking to the Daily' and announcing more leniency in granting anonymity for students who feel threatened. Three days before, the Daily reported that six student visas had been revoked by federal authorities.
Reich said she worries about the diversity in voices the Daily may be losing because international students especially are afraid to speak with reporters or join the newsroom.
'When we have an entire section of the student body scared to have their stories told, that's a significant portion of the life of Stanford that just isn't being told,' she said. 'It's wildly concerning.'
Adam Kinder, editor-in-chief of the Columbia Political Review, said he's had about half a dozen requests from student writers wanting to put the publishing process on hold and a similar number of requests to take down previously published articles.
Many of the requests have been from international students 'because of the very real fear right now, including the fear of deportation,' Kinder said. The publication reversed a previous rule restricting non-bylined articles.
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'I don't think it's a coincidence that we're getting more of these requests than we ever had before,' he said.
Worries that the 'first draft of history' could be erased
Dylan Hembrough, editor-in-chief of the Alestle at Southern Illinois University, said he's also being more flexible with taking down previously published content, removing bylines from staff writers and offering anonymity. That includes for an upcoming story about eight international students at the school who have had their visas revoked.
The Alestle's staff is working on a new policy for removing previously published content.
'Offering anonymity now is important because for some of these people, their lives could be completely upended at a moment's notice,' Hembrough said. 'People's lives are more important than a good story.'
Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota media ethics professor, acknowledged that the current moment 'raises a whole new set of ethical issues that may feel much more existential.' But she encouraged student journalists to slow down when deciding how to weigh minimizing harm with other ethical standards, including to seek the truth and report it and to tell the full story of what is happening.
Kirtley said anonymous sourcing and non-bylined work can appear less credible. Removing previously published content can have lasting effects, given that journalism is often called the first draft of history.
'You have to ask yourself, what am I doing to the historical record, especially amid attempts in the current administration to rewrite history,' she said.