Feb. 27 isNational Student Press Freedom Day, which celebrates and raises awareness of challenges faced by student journalists and media. Students in the press and media at Samford University are no strangers to the unique challenges that press at a university can have.
In the 1972, students at the Samford Crimson faced such heavy censorship with their journalism that some reporters rebelled and began a separate newspaper called “Another Voice.”
While less extreme, more recently, students at the Samford News Network were asked by the school administration to pull a clip from a video they made that contained a brief scan of a bar.
For students such as Sarah Elisabeth Ellison, a JMC major, she sees this regulation of media as a potential pitfall.
“Samford remains relevant by allowing for free speech, without it you can’t understand how students feel – things as simple as not wanting something in the Caf can’t be changed unless students can voice their opinions,” said Ellison.
This censorship of media has not been limited to student press but also the classroom and parent involvement. In 2022, the English Department at Samford hosted a series of writers to speak to students in an event called the “Bache Visiting Writers Series.”
The event was optional, but one of the poems by Nickole Brown sparked such controversy that Samford Administration was asked by parents to get involved and stern warnings were given out to English Department faculty and staff.
Other similar incidents have happened with guest speakers and groups at Samford. In 2022, Samford uninvited two local churches from the campus ministry fair due to their support of same sex marriage, sparking controversy. However, in Sept. of 2022 and 2023, a group of students and alumni at Samford hosted a silent protest for Samford LGBTQ Title IX policy outside the Wright Center during convocation which the University did not shut down.
Lindsie Rank – lawyer, director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and an undergraduate student at Whitworth University while Beck Taylor was President – described the challenges faced by students at private institutions who wish to share their views.
“Some schools lay in a gray area that leaves you questioning if you should speak up. Students wonder if they are going to get in trouble or face push back and from what level they will face this,” Rank said. “There is a real fear that as a 19-year-old college student, you could be called into the provost’s office and face reprimand for voicing your views on campus. That fear doesn’t bode well for a free speech culture.”
However, students seem to be finding ways to bypass this censorship and voice their thoughts. The social media app “Fizz” has gained popularity at Samford, and Ellison attributes it as one-way students at Samford are combatting media regulation.
“The right to speak your mind on Samford’s campus is extremely important. It is our most valuable resource,” said Ellison.
However, there are still ways Samford can better support free speech.
“The easiest way for Samford to support free speech is to have really clear policy – let students know that free speech is respected on this campus, that we believe in the free exchange of ideas and that censorship won’t happen from an administrative level, and follow through,” Rank said.
From both internal and external perspectives, it seems that while Samford has made strides to support free speech policy in student press and the classroom in recent years, there is still much administration can do to support a free speech culture on campus.
Staff Writer
