VICTORY: Ashland abandons demand for prior review of student newspaper, recommits to expressive freedom after FIRE’s intervention

Ashland University’s recent ousting of student newspaper adviser and journalism instructor Ted Daniels amid administrative criticism that he taught “too much investigative journalism” raised serious concerns about the state of academic and press freedom at Ashland. When Ashland then demanded that student paper The Collegian submit stories to school officials before publication, we were doubly concerned. 

On Friday, however, FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative saw a glimmer of hope: Ashland said it will no longer require prior review for The Collegian and reaffirmed that it supports the paper’s right to press freedom.

In a letter to the editor published by The Collegian, two Ashland administrators at the center of its recent free speech controversies wrote that they “support” the student newspaper “as a forum for open communication.” The phrase “forum for open communication” is used in First Amendment precedent to identify spaces in which individuals have broad expressive freedom. When a student publication is so designated, it indicates that student journalists should expect to have free press rights commensurate with journalists at a professional publication. 

As student journalists at Ashland regain their bearings after losing their adviser, losing their right to independent journalism, and finally regaining their independence, FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative will continue to keep a close eye to ensure they do not face further censorship.

Also in the letter, the administrators said they are “committed to the principles of academic freedom and value the resulting dialogue.”

Regarding The Collegian, Ashland elaborated on its commitments in correspondence with FIRE: “No further administrative review is required,” President Carlos Campo wrote. Instead, reviews for grammar and accuracy — the university’s original excuse for enacting official prior review — will be the responsibility of the paper’s new adviser. Even so, FIRE subsequently reminded Campo, “[o]fficially-mandated prior review constitutes censorship, even when delegated to a faculty member.” Campo in response clarified that Ashland will not require the adviser to review content before publication, and that that role “is unchanged from prior semesters.”

The university’s initial actions implicated not just The Collegian’s independence, but also the academic freedom of Ashland faculty. Because criticism from multiple administrators about Daniels’ pedagogy surrounded his nonrenewal — including in the official notice of his dismissal, in which a university official labeled his “perspectives on the field of journalism” as “problematic for Ashland” — the ouster created questions about whether other faculty could face penalties for their teaching.

While publicly recommitting to academic and press freedom cannot undo all the damage from Daniels’ nonrenewal, these are important first steps to regaining trust in the integrity of Ashland’s promise of expressive freedom. Combined with the university abandoning demands for prior review of The Collegian, these moves make FIRE cautiously optimistic for the future of free expression at Ashland.

As student journalists at Ashland regain their bearings after losing their adviser, losing their right to independent journalism, and finally regaining their independence, FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative will continue to keep a close eye to ensure they do not face further censorship.

FIRE defends the rights of students and faculty members — no matter their views — at public and private universities and colleges in the United States. If you are a student or a faculty member facing investigation or punishment for your speech, submit your case to FIRE today. If you’re a faculty member at a public college or university, call the Faculty Legal Defense Fund 24-hour hotline at 254-500-FLDF (3533). If you’re a college journalist facing censorship or a media law question, call the Student Press Freedom Initiative 24-hour hotline at 717-734-SPFI (7734).