Wilkes University needs a free student media

I struggled to grasp the concept of censorship at private universities during my first few years at Wilkes. Students from other private universities would tell me horror stories from their institutions. To me, Wilkes was that city upon a hill that bucked the trend of censorship at private institutions. I was proud of Wilkes, but my pride greatly dimini shed throughout this year.

I've been working for a good part of this school year to have Wilkes' President Gilmour sign a First Amendment agreement. The agreement ensured the student media at Wilkes University "will operate as designated public forums, and free from censorship and advanced approval of content." The agreement also protected the student media's funding and advisers from a vengeful administration.

The agreement is not a legally-binding contract. Instead, it is a promise that the administration can make to the Wilkes community that the school will not trample on the rights set forth by America's founding fathers. My hope was that Wilkes would be the first private institution to sign the agreement, which would solidify its status as a beacon of press freedom among private universities.

However, as conversations over the agreement began, it became apparent that the administration did not trust its own student media. Outrageous hypothetical situations were proposed about renegade newspaper staffs, and soon the agreement became bogged down with language that would have made even the greenest First Amendment advocate laugh. What should have been a gesture of good will between the administration and the community it serves became a symbol for a hidden distrust.

Obviously, there is a lot of hesitation when an entity is asked to relinquish some of its power, but the administration needs to start putting more trust into its students, faculty and staff.

I hope the glacial progress of the agreement and the censorship of The Beacon earlier this year are not previews of things to come. As The Beacon transitions to a new adviser next year the paper will no doubt be vulnerable to outside forces. However, I am comforted in the fact that the new student leaders of The Beacon are some of the strongest and most trustworthy people I've met at Wilkes University. They understand the role of a journalist and respect the institution that is The Beacon.

I look forward to reading the amazing pieces of unfettered journalism that hold the leadership of Wilkes University accountable, expose wrongdoing and shine a light on the amazing work being done across our community.

My overlapping hope is that Wilkes does not fall in line with those other private institutions that censor their student media. As Franklin Roosevelt said, "If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free."