Journalism is political.
To say that it is not is laughable.
Last semester, The Dickinsonian, like many other student newspapers across the country, had to contend with how best to protect international students, increasingly targeted by the Trump administration because of interviews they had given to and articles they had written for their student newspapers. Since international students make up 14% of Dickinson’s student body, the College as well as this newspaper had to pivot in order to support students in a tenuous and potentially dangerous national political climate. Alongside a willingness to report on and share the issues that international students face, The Dickinsonian is also committed to protecting them from political retribution for what they share with us.
At Dickinson, multiple professors and organizations—investigation by The Dickinsonian ongoing—had grants revoked after DOGE gutted the National Endowment for the Humanities, because they did not adhere to President Trump’s executive order that “the NEH eliminate all non-statutorily required activities and functions,” as well as other executive orders including those ending government DEI programs, including racial and gender-based research and pedagogy. This has inhibited the research and development of faculty, which in turn limits the academic experience of students.
These are just two examples of how the Trump administration’s political agenda, which is anti-immigrant and anti-intellectual, immediately and personally affect the personal and educational experiences of members of the Dickinson community.
As a student newspaper, it is The Dickinsonian’s responsibility to expose and report on the injustices that individuals and groups face on campus and in Carlisle. Rather than veering away from politics, we ought to throw ourselves into it, and advocate for the advancement of every student on campus. We do not exist in an apolitical vacuum. As always, our reporting will endeavor to be comprehensive, transparent and responsible. To the best of our ability, we will endeavor to keep students safe whenever there is a risk of retribution or threat that they face because of what they may experience or desire to share. We encourage students to submit their own work about the causes about which they are passionate and the change that they would like to make on campus and in the world.
Over the past several weeks, I and other members of the Editorial Board have been engaging in community outreach to many of the student groups on campus in an initiative that will be ongoing throughout the year. Our goal is to personally engage with the many student groups on campus to understand their concerns, priorities and how we, as the student newspaper, can best support and represent their needs; as well as to make The Dickinsonian as accessible and familiar to students as possible. Our goal is to report on that which matters most to our fellow students and champion their wants and needs of students above all else, through both our News and Opinion sections.
As I, and the rest of the Editorial Board, have said time and time again, The Dickinsonian emphasizes respectful, open dialogue between a variety of student perspectives. We stand by the concerns of our peers.
Politics are central to journalism, and now more than ever, this newspaper, under my leadership as Editor-in-Chief, will endeavor to engage with the political in order to serve and promote the members of our community.