Indiana University facing lawsuit and backlash after student paper censorship
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Indiana University was already ranked among the nation's worst campuses for free speech — then it tried to censor its student newspaper.
Why it matters: The move made national headlines, sparked a lawsuit and angered alumni — all at a university that takes pride in its prestigious journalism school and the Indiana Daily Student, its 158-year-old student paper.
Catch up quick: Tension between university administration and the IDS came to a head last month when it directed students to include no news in its Oct. 16 printed paper, its Homecoming edition.
- Jim Rodenbush, the director of student media, told Axios he let students know this was the university's expectation but did not force the issue and let administrators know this directive would be considered censorship.
- When it became clear that the IDS staff wouldn't comply, IU terminated Rodenbush and canceled all further printings of the paper.
- Amid intense public and internal pressure, IU reinstated printed papers for the rest of the school year.
The latest: Rodenbush filed a federal lawsuit last week, arguing the university violated his free speech and due process rights when it fired him.
- He's seeking monetary damages and reinstatement of his job.
The other side: Mark Bode, a spokesperson for the university, told Axios that IU does not comment on pending litigation.
- Chancellor David Reingold wrote in a letter last week that "Indiana University has never attempted to censor editorial content." He said all decisions related to the IDS were financial ones.
Rodenbush told Axios that IU's actions last month were not out of the blue. Rather, he said, they were the culmination of a building pushback against criticism of a new administration and its decisions.
- Rodenbush, who was in his eighth year of leading IU's student media, said the administration began exercising a new level of control over the IDS during the summer.
- Even before that, though, he noticed a change on campus that began with the arrival of President Pam Whitten in 2021.
What he's saying: Rodenbush said IU has earned its ranking by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression as one of the three worst in the nation for free speech, based on surveys of undergraduates about their perceptions of their First Amendment Rights on campus.
- "Anytime you're pointing snipers at your own students, it's an indication your free speech rights aren't as solid as you thought," he said.
- Rodenbush said he sees the handling of pro-Palestine protests in Dunn Meadow and the attempted censorship of the IDS, which had been critical of Whitten, as all steps "to eliminate any negative news coming from IU."