There are an estimated 1,600 active college newspapers in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center. Student newspapers and student media provide participants with the opportunity to use the skills and expertise they learn in classrooms. Additionally, they serve as professional entities that produce important reporting their communities need to know.
Regardless of experience, student media is still journalism and should be privy to the same standards and treatment as other outlets.
Last Wednesday, Pennsylvania State University removed approximately 35 newsstands containing The Daily Collegian, the independent, student-produced newspaper on campus. The staff was not notified of the removal, according to the Daily Collegian.
Three of the racks contained a Kamala Harris advertisement and six others displayed voter registration advertisements. All racks inside campus buildings, regardless of whether they held political ads, were removed and their location was unknown.
“The University understands the importance of a free news and information source specifically for its students,” a university spokeswoman wrote in an email to the Collegian. “However, the Collegian’s use of advertising space within university buildings is in violation of AD27 Commercial Sales Activities at University Locations and AD02 Non-University Groups Using University Facilities.”
The Collegian expressed it uses advertising sales as a revenue source. After undergoing a 100% funding cut from the university’s general fund in 2023, the publication stressed the importance of advertising revenue.
Editor-in-Chief Amy Schafer said political advertising is not new to the paper, stating it has run ads for both Republican and Democratic candidates in the past. Above all, Schafer told the Collegian she feels upset and disrespected, especially regarding the lack of communication from the university.
Schafer asserted the removal of the papers as a violation of free speech.
Friday morning, most of the newsstands and newspapers were returned to their respective locations. However, the stands outside a classroom building did not include the paper. The stand outside of the Collegian office inside the building is still unaccounted for as of Friday.
The removal of Collegian’s newsstands without notice was a violation of press freedom and contributed to the ongoing fight for student media to be taken seriously. As an independent newspaper, it reserves the right to run ads it deems in accordance with its advertising policy.
If the university felt the ads violated its advertising policy, it should have reached out to the newspaper first. Additionally, the removal of both the newsstands and the papers was unnecessary, especially those that did not contain an advertisement.
The Post is an independent, student-run newspaper that relies on advertisements to make money. It also runs political ads in the print edition, online, on newsstands and on social media. The revenue produced by advertisement sales is vital to maintaining essential facets of the publication. As an independent entity, The Post reserves the right to run advertisements that are following its policy.
Journalism is as essential as always. A threat to student media is a threat to the industry as a whole.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Alyssa Cruz, Managing Editor Madalyn Blair and Equity Director McKenna Christy. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage. The Post can be reached via editor@thepostathens.com.
