Texas A&M President M. Katherine Banks announced last week that The Battalion, Texas A&M’s student newspaper, would cease print publication and shift to an online-only format under a newly formed Department of Journalism instead of its current status as a student organization. This is a troubling change as the paper has, since its launch in 1893, been largely free of University oversight. Yesterday, an updated press release was shared in which Banks announced that a working group that consists of faculty members and student leaders was discussing ways that The Battalion may continue to print weekly editions.
I believe in the power of journalism. I believe in its importance. In a world where misinformation is spread through social media like a wildfire on a hot summer day and a US President can spend four years attacking the reputation of the media on a daily basis, journalism is an essential barrier against ignorance and a tool for the understanding of others. Journalism opens a window across the world and across the street. Through good reporting, we are able to understand our own lives in the context of the people and the cultures around us. Without a free press, we are at the whim of the powerful, who can use the Internet, television, and printed publications to sway the way we think and the emotions we feel.
In the grand scheme of things, is a single student newspaper in a Texas college town the most important thing in the world? No, but this specific battle reflects a larger war that is being waged against the importance of journalism and the education of the next generation of journalists.
It is my distinct hope that Banks and the leadership at Texas A&M reconsider their decision and that The Battalion is not only able to continue to issue a print version but - more importantly - that the newspaper continues to be able to be run free of direct University oversight.
I worked at The Battalion during all four years of college. Within weeks of enrolling as a freshman, I applied to the newspaper - driven by my desire to follow in the footsteps of my hero I.M. Fletcher and my belief that I’d make a pretty good film critic. By my sophomore year, I was the editor of the Entertainment section, a position I’d hold on and off until I graduated in 2007.
Working for The Battalion made me the person I am today. I met some amazing people, I learned some important lessons - both about journalism and about being a good person, and I got to hold physical printed copies of stories that I had written and pages I designed. As an attention-craved young man, nothing beat sitting in class and watching people read something I wrote. I loved the feeling of holding a copy of The Battalion in my hands every morning and knowing I had been a part of it. Print also taught me the importance of restraint. Writing for the Internet means frequently publishing overlong, rambling text. Editing down a story or review to fit a very specific allocated space within a newspaper meant knowing not everything you wrote was gold and that your best writing comes after a healthy edit.
I would never have written WHERE WOLF without the four years I spent writing at The Battalion - and not just because the comic’s main character is a journalist based out of College Station. I was sitting in the newsroom one evening when Ronald George, the paper’s advisor, brought out giant stacks of archival papers from the earliest days of the newspaper. As I flipped through these turn-of-the-century artifacts, I read a story about how college students in the early 1900s were being eaten by wolves walking home from classes. Holy shit! The initial idea for WHERE WOLF was born that day.
I may not be a journalist currently, but my love for journalism runs deep. I sincerely hope that the future journalists of Texas A&M continue to get the education and training they deserve. Hopefully, the students also continue to get a chance to hold a physical copy of something they made in their hands.
Please consider emailing President Banks at president@tamu.edu to let her know the importance of The Battalion.