The phrase “student journalism” tends to carry quite a bit of weight and meaning for all those who staff this nation’s numerous school newspapers. It perfectly encapsulates all our blood, sweat and (sometimes happy) tears in a neat, self-explanatory phrase, conjuring up images of late nights spent writing, editing and producing articles that may only ever be read by parents and close friends. More importantly, however, the phrase “student journalism” also captures our belief in and commitment to practicing journalism in its purest form. A form predicated upon researching, writing and producing articles for no other reason than a deep love for the truth, even if this truth operates at the small-scale level of everyday life.
It is, therefore, the belief of the editorial board of The Fordham Ram that the immediacy and local-first lens of “student journalism” may very well serve not only as a light in the darkness of this historical moment but also as a key touchstone for navigating and shaping one’s daily reality.
Consider, for one, how the current presidential administration is, by its own admission, undertaking a project that it calls “muzzle flash”: an endeavor to implement and change countless policies so quickly and simultaneously that both the media and the general public just cannot keep up with all that is happening. This means that not only do stories and events worthy of coverage often fall through the cracks, but also that larger media companies willingly choose to only cover “the big questions.” Is this sort of presidential behavior normal or even constitutional? What does the future of democracy look like? What can be done to fight back?
Student journalism can provide a partial antidote to these dire problems, as school newspapers are, by virtue of their size and their focus on the immediate, able to center what falls through the cracks. What is missed, glossed over and generalized by larger media companies is picked up by school papers just like The Ram, where student journalism returns truth to its most visible and immediate form.
Take, for instance, a recent piece published in Boston University’s BU Today about the human impact of the Trump administration’s recent immigration policies. Instead of focusing on metanarratives about Trump’s broader policy vision and its constitutionality, it pulls the effects of immigration policy down to their most immediate and human level, highlighting what displacement actually means and looks like for those living on the margins of the immigration system. In other words, the piece speaks of the migrants’ “palpable fear” of their now-dashed hopes and dreams and of the physical and mental trauma that is created by anti-immigration infrastructure.
Consider also the Columbia Spectator’s coverage of the Trump administration’s most recent flurry of executive orders. Their journalism redirects the conversation around these executive orders away from larger questions and towards a distinct focus on the policies’ impact on the actual human beings on campus. It speaks, quite powerfully, about a classics professor who is concerned about the immigration status of their students, about an interim dean of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons who is concerned about cutting costs and about a student leader who is concerned about the mental and physical wellbeing of their trans classmates.
Beyond this important role that student journalism plays when it comes to providing visibility and accountability in the political sphere, it also has the capability to guide individuals through meaningful aspects of their daily lives. Take, for instance, how it aids the students, faculty and staff who live and work right here at Fordham. Their lives are directed by a myriad of things that are mostly independent of federal politics — who our spring performer is, how our basketball team performs and what events are occurring in and around campus. These everyday matters are important to people, and student journalism often acts as the touchstone for them, not only informing individuals of the “what” and “where” of issues, but also the all-important “why” and “how” behind them (i.e., those things which allow individuals to understand how to shape that which shapes them).
Thus, without student journalism, these events would very likely not only remain invisible and unknown, but their innermost mechanisms, what makes them possible and how they can possibly be brought about or changed, would also exist in relative, far-away obscurity.
While this all may be or may sound a bit self-congratulatory — after all, this article is, at its core, a bunch of student journalists talking about the importance of student journalism — it is the genuine belief of those of us at The Ram that student journalism greatly benefits local communities. Its immediacy, its focus on the daily and its commitment to truth of all sizes is perhaps exactly what is needed in this modern moment when life seems so chaotic and mind-bogglingly fast that understanding the world around us, let alone changing it, seems like a far-away, distant possibility.
