Administrators fire advisers, stop printing to censor press
Indiana University firing the newspaper adviser, as we reported recently, was not something new. Advisers have faced this pressure for decades. If they do not censor the newspaper, will they lose their jobs?
The answer to that is yes, sometimes.
Just ask Jim Rodenbush, the seven-year director of student media at the Indiana University, who was fired in October because he refused to censor the editors.
Indiana University was already listed this year as one of the worst in the country when it comes to free speech for students. Then it took actions that only further cemented the F given by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
That’s when administrators fired the newspaper’s adviser for failing to censor the paper and stopped the publication of the 158-year-old Indiana Daily Student newspaper.
The Associated Press reported that Rodenbush filed a federal lawsuit law week. The suit argues that Rodenbush’s free speech and due process rights were violated when he was fired for not making the students print the homecoming edition without news stories in it.
David Tolchinsky, the dean of the university’s media school and also the person who stopped the paper from printing, said Rodenbush was dismissed for a “lack of leadership and ability to work in alignment with the university’s direction for the Student Media Plan.”
Rodenbush’s attorney countered: “The question is if a university doesn’t like the content of the student newspaper, can it simply pull the plug on the student newspaper.”
Editors of the Indiana Daily Student have reported that the university has rescinded the decision to stop all future printing of the paper.
The university’s backtracking on the issue came amid intense public and internal pressure.
Donors threatened to stop giving to the university. Almost 50 faculty members of The Media School at Indiana University signed a letter to the students of the university, criticizing the administration’s decision to halt the paper and raising concerns about further censorship acted.
“Today, it is the IDS, our 158-year-old student newspaper, and one of the most respected in the country. What will it be tomorrow?” the letter asks.
And the faculty were all adamant about one key point: “We will not stop fighting for you. We will not stop innovating in the classroom. We will not stop expanding the opportunities available to you. We will not stop engaging in the challenging conversations that make the college experience so indelible in young people’s lives.”
Firing the adviser and trying to stop publication are just two of the way student newspapers are facing censorship.
The Stanford Daily is suing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem over the Trump administration using immigration laws to censor student journalists who criticize U.S. foreign policy. The lawsuit, filed in August 2025, claims the fear of deportation and visa revocation is causing international students to self-censor, which is stifling the newspaper’s coverage.
More than 50 student-run news organizations and other professional media organizations have filed amicus briefs in the last couple of weeks, all supporting The Stanford Daily in this cause.
Clearly the fight for student press and speech rights continue.
— Sources: theFIRE.org, Axios Indianapolis, Indiana Daily Student, WRTV.com, IndianaCapitalChronicle.com, AcademeBlog.org