By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger
The Guidon, Norwich University’s student newspaper, has resumed reporting and publishing for the first time since it was suspended by administrators earlier this year.
Prior to last week, student writers and editors had refused to resume publication of the paper, saying they were protesting administrative oversight of the paper and holding out for concessions. But on Monday, Dec. 9, the paper announced that it would start reporting Norwich University news again.
“Despite The Guidon’s conditions still being unmet, the staff decided that their obligation to the Norwich community takes precedence for the time being,” the paper said in a story written by reporters Bennett Oakes and Kerry McAuley.
Over the summer, administrators at the Northfield military university had barred the paper, which is over a century old, from publishing, citing concerns about students’ ability to responsibly report the news.
Faculty and students, however, said that administrators were upset at some of The Guidon’s stories in recent semesters, particularly reporting about sexual assault on campus.
After VTDigger published a story in October about the newspaper’s suspension, Norwich University President John Broadmeadow, a retired lieutenant general, said the paper could resume publishing, but with “ethics oversight.”
Administrators appointed a second faculty advisor for the newspaper in addition to the existing one, and stood up a committee to advise students involved in media on campus.
That advisory committee has been working on drafting a code of ethics for student media organizations, Guidon staffers said.
Writers with The Guidon have refused to participate in meetings of that committee or adhere to any code of ethics drafted by it, they said. Last month, the newspaper posted a statement titled “Why We Won’t Work,” saying that the paper would not publish until administrators met certain conditions, including ending all oversight and issuing a statement affirming the paper’s independence.
Those concessions have not taken place. But after a series of communications with administrators that Guidon writers described as unproductive, they made the decision to restart the paper anyway. “After months of this happening — whether it be, you know, administration red-taping us, or us waiting for these demands to be met, all this back and forth, ping-pong correspondence — we realize that we need to, you know, take (on) our role as a newspaper,” Oakes, a Guidon reporter, said. “I think we feel like that role supersedes these demands being met.”
Marc Kolb, a spokesperson for Norwich University, said in an email that Norwich welcomed the return of The Guidon.
“We are happy to see the Guidon is publishing again,” Kolb said in an email. “They are an important part of our campus community and provide an important service.”
The Guidon has published two stories so far this week. The first, on Monday, was a report about the paper’s decision to resume reporting.
The second, published Tuesday, reported that a Norwich University student was arrested after an alleged sexual assault on campus Monday. Reporters said they are currently working on follow-up stories.
“At the end of the day, the news is the most important thing here,” McAuley, a Guidon reporter, said in an interview. “So we can’t just keep going in circles. We have to plow forward because the news never stops.”
The Guidon can be read at: norwichguidon.org.
