The Today’s Carolinian issue: fostering critical voices

Campus press freedom is a topic close to my heart because I was a student journalist in college, culminating in my role as editor-in-chief of UP Cebu's student publication, Tug-ani, during my final year.

I recall that, as a lecturer at the college in the early 2000s, three UP Cebu student journalists were suspended for articles they had written. I stood with the student journalists in their struggle to reverse the decision. Thankfully, on appeal, then UP President Dodong Nemenezo overturned the suspension.

Today, it is rare to hear of students being punished for what they write. This is unsurprising, as we also now rarely see student publications that are independent and, even more so, critical of school policies. Outside of UP, most student publications lack the independence and editorial wherewithal to serve as truly relevant platforms that respond to the call of the times. Many focus on trivial campus issues or safe, interesting topics, rather than provoke critical thought or foster scholarly discourse.

It is, thus, both a pleasant surprise to learn about the student journalists of Today’s Carolinian at the University of San Carlos (USC) and a disheartening revelation to hear about their current struggles. They have reportedly been evicted from their office and have been left to independently collect publication funds since 2019, rather than having the school handle the collection --a practice permitted under the much-criticized Campus Journalism Act of 1991 (RA 7079), which has been blamed for the closure of several student publications in the 1990s that could not survive without school support.

The USC administration reportedly defended the eviction as a reallocation of the office for alumni affairs, describing it as a "prudent use of limited campus spaces." However, Today’s Carolinian journalists view it as a pretext to undermine the publication’s standing, particularly in light of its history of critical reportage on tuition hikes and university policies.

That such independent and courageous student journalists stand firm for campus press freedom is admirable, though not entirely surprising. As a USC alumnus who earned my Law degree there, I know that USC attracts and nurtures intelligent and critical-minded students. During my student days in UP Cebu in the 1990s, Today’s Carolinian was home to some of the brightest and most talented fellow student writers, who thrived under the relatively progressive and nuanced leadership of the more tolerant school administrators of the post-EDSA period. I hope that ultimately this issue facing Today’s Carolinian will be resolved in favor of a critical and free campus press.

Private school administrators may argue that it is easier for us in UP to promote or even tolerate critical reportage and opinion from our student publications because we are state-funded. I believe this view is utterly misguided.

Since when has critical coverage from students truly affected a private school's ability to make a profit or survive? It seems more a matter of bruising the ego of school administrators than impacting the financial bottom line.

Fostering critical discourse within a school often enhances its reputation as an institution that values intellectual rigor and accountability. People are more likely to respect and trust a school that encourages its community to engage with complex issues and challenge the status quo. If a school believes that student journalists are misguided or irresponsible, its greater responsibility is to engage with the students in nuanced dialogue, fostering principled divergence of views from the dynamics.

The real risk to a school's reputation and business viability comes not from criticism but from suppressing it, which creates an environment that stifles innovation.