Indiana University has reversed course on its decision to stop reporters from including news coverage in the print version of its college newspaper, after weeks of intense criticism from the community and accusations of censorship.
In a letter to The Indiana Daily Student published Thursday night, David Reingold, the university’s chancellor, said he acknowledged the university had not handled recent decisions surrounding the newspaper “as well as we should have.”
He said the university would allow The Indiana Daily Student to spend its budget “as the editors see fit” through June 30.
“First of all, let me affirm that our commitment to a free and independent student press has never wavered,” he wrote.
The criticism came after the university fired the director of student media, Jim Rodenbush, and then told the student newspaper, which has been in publication for 158 years, that it could only publish news coverage online. Print versions of the newspaper, the university said, had to be limited to event guides.
The university said at the time that the decision was made to help deal with the paper’s financial losses and would shift resources to its digital operations. Indiana Daily Student co-editors wrote in an Oct. 15 editorial that the university had cut its print paper less than two days before the next edition was to be published.
“Telling us what we can and cannot print is illegal censorship,” wrote the editors, Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller.
Many alumni demanded that the school change course. The faculty at the university’s School of Media rejected the measures in an open letter. Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman and graduate of the university, wrote on social media: “Not happy. Censorship is not the way.”
Dr. Reingold said in his letter Thursday that Mr. Rodenbush’s firing “coincided” with operational concerns about student media at the school and an annual deficit approaching $300,000.
“Let me be clear: My decision had nothing to do with the editorial content of The IDS,” he said.
On Thursday, sued Mr. Rodenbush Indiana University and accused the school of violating his free speech and due process by terminating him. In the complaint, which was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Mr. Rodenbush that the school had fired him “after he refused to censor student work.”
He is seeking reinstatement and damages, as well as having the court declare that the university’s actions in canceling the print newspaper violated the First Amendment.
Indiana University representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Rodenbush said in an interview Friday that while he was thrilled for the students that the print paper was coming back, he believed the university needed to further explain why he was fired and why it made the decisions it did.
“There has to be some kind of accountability,” he said.
Mrs. Hilkowitz and Mr. Miller, the co-editors of The Indiana Daily Student, said in a statement Friday that they were pleased the university had changed its stance.
“But the work is still not done and we intend to hold the administrators to their word,” they said.
The next issue will be published on 20 November.
