Student journalists rise to an unprecedented challenge

"It's called CollegeWatch. For this job, I am reading constantly about the topic - stories we're publishing, yes, but also stories from publications big and small. What quickly struck me is the power of the work coming out of campus publications, and how little we would know about the full scale of this assault if it were not for these student journalists."

"Despite the potential for significant personal risk, from suspensions to deportations, student journalists across the country are reporting stories about how the Trump administration is transforming their campuses - stories that would otherwise likely go untold. In just the past few weeks, The Daily Campus reported on the University of Connecticut's reluctance to comment publicly on its relationship with Avelo Airlines, which runs deportation flights for ICE,"

"The Daily Bruin reported that the University of California renamed its Department of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion the Office of Culture and Inclusive Excellence, while The UCSD Guardian reported that UC San Diego renamed a scholarship for Black alumni and opened it up to all applicants. And this is just skimming the surface. These students are also tracking ICE near campus, they're unpacking the agreements their schools are signing with the Trump administration, and they're capturing classroom censorship."

Student journalists across the country are reporting on how the Trump administration is transforming campuses, often risking suspensions, deportations, and other personal consequences. Campus publications have revealed universities' reluctance to discuss ties to deportation flights, efforts to limit faculty media engagement, and departmental renamings that downplay equity work. Reports include UC San Diego's scholarship changes and University of California departmental renamings. Students are also tracking ICE presence near campuses, analyzing agreements between schools and the administration, and documenting classroom censorship. The breadth of student reporting is exposing institutional changes and enforcement-related activity on many campuses.

Read at Nieman Lab