College Newspapers--Journalism's Best Kept Secret
Many American politicians seem severely out of sync with the young electorate of the nation. In a surprise revolt against the ostensible political establishment, 70% of voters under 30 voted for Bernie Sanders. Their positions on key issues, such as public education, climate change and campaign finance were significantly tamped down after Sanders conceded to Hillary Clinton and the ostensible political establishment. A more troubling detail, perhaps, is the unprecedented spectacle of a campaign in which two thirds of all voters between 18 and 30 consider the Republican nominee to be a racist (according a US News poll). When Sanders was still running, the major media paid a lot of attention to the views of college students, who were so central a part of his constituency. Now, alas, not so much. In every fall Presidential campaign, there is a tendency to focus on swing states and “strategic” demographics, and because Clinton now seems to dominate Trump among young people, we are not hearing as much as we should be about their refreshingly untampered . Every Presidential campaign must, ultimately, be about the future, and no demographic can tell us more about the future than young people. One vital, under-appreciated means of tapping into the views of those young people who are lucky enough to go to college is to keep aware of what is being written in college newspapers across the United States. Oftentimes these publications offer not only important clues into the student mind but also moments in national politics that do not always make it into the national media. For instance, in November 2015, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (who later made Trump’s Vice Presidential short list) infuriated many students in a Northwestern University crowd by saying that those protesting racism in American society were “wasting their time,” and although no major news outlet covered the speech, freshman David Fishman, of the Daily Northwestern, reported those incendiary words. These papers also offer glimpses of college life that may tell us something about the America to come. For instance, at the University of Wisconsin (Madison), senior Nyal Mueenuddin recently reported in the Badger Herald that ROTC cadets on his campus offer one another “cultural competency training” about Islam and the Middle East, including role-playing exercises that involve the wearing of counterfeit beards and headscarves. Mueenuddin reports how Middle Eastern Studies Professor Uli Schlamiloglu fears that such training might “reinforce problematic stereotypes” and that Hani Rustom, president of the University’s Muslim Students Association, feels it “may do more harm than good,” suggesting that a better approach might be to reach out to Madison’s “substantial Muslim population” for insights into Islamic culture, which, he says, would be “far more effective and humanizing than just making it up.” These college newspapers are not only valuable archives of moments that may otherwise be lost to time, but also an effective tool to gauge the pulse of college-aged students around the country. At a time when the college vote is often disregarded for its perceived unreliability, these college newspapers are critical vehicles by which students can remind politicians, “We’re here.” College Newspapers, such as The Harvard Crimson, Penn State’s Collegian, and the Daily Texan candidly provide readers with an unmatched view into college opinions. Many of these newspapers were born before many national newspapers, and have large staffs, like the Harvard Crimson, which lists 104 staff members on its online masthead. One might think that without the funding that large newspapers receive, a college publication will simply be left digging in the dirt. Readers quickly find, however, that the papers strike gold on a daily basis. Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich addressed a raucous crowd at Northwestern University in November of 2015, proclaiming “All lives matter,” and that students protesting racism were “wasting their time,” College Newspapers have an unparalleled ability to focus in on, and analyze the fascinating goings on at our nation’s leading universities. They truly voice colleges’ reactions to events, allowing anyone willing to gauge college students’ opinions and sentiment. Americans who sample our nation’s college news publications have taken the first step to comprehending the collective reaction to our turbulent world. There is a noticeable trend that college students do not show up to vote. While we must hold up our end of the bargain as citizens, our politicians must immerse themselves in our opinions and about the world around us, and by doing so, hold up their end.
College Reaction--a News service, which curates college newspaper articles
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