The Student Press Law Center is proud to honor Alesandra Gonzales and Charlotte Hampton of Dartmouth College with the 2024 Reveille Seven Courage in Student Journalism Award.
The two journalists for The Dartmouth were arrested in May while covering a protest on campus, but they courageously fought the charges against them and publicly championed the values of a free press. The award is presented to Gonzales and Hampton as representatives of the hundreds of student journalists who bravely covered campus protests this past spring, despite the risks of being harmed or arrested.
Also recognized as finalists for the award are Salomé Cloteaux at Indiana University for the Indiana Daily Student’s response to immense community pushback to their coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, and Hannah Epstein at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges for her dogged reporting of the college Title IX office’s handling of sexual assault cases despite administrative pressure.
Together, the winners and finalists represent many of the major challenges faced by college journalists over the past year.
SPLC and the Associated Collegiate Press announced the honors Nov. 2 at the Fall National College Media Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University sponsors a $2,000 prize for the award, which is given annually to student journalists who have demonstrated exceptional determination and support for student press freedom, despite resistance or difficult circumstances.
“Dre and Charlotte demonstrated extraordinary courage when they were arrested and jailed for covering protests on the Dartmouth campus last spring,” SPLC Executive Director Gary Green said. “Student journalists are the first documenters of history on their campuses. They should not be arrested, intimidated or silenced for doing their jobs and keeping their communities informed, especially when covering a news event with international interest and implications.”
Winners
Gonzales and Hampton were reporting on and photographing the arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters on Dartmouth’s campus May 1 when police pulled them from a group of other journalists. Despite wearing press credentials, they were arrested, charged with criminal trespass and later released on bail.
As a condition of their bail, Gonzales and Hampton were barred from entering the center of campus, where the protest took place. They spent six days with the potential charges hanging over them, particularly after Dartmouth initially refused to call for charges to be dropped.
Shortly after receiving a letter on May 7 from 15 national press rights organizations, led by SPLC and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock acknowledged the student journalists “should not have been arrested for doing their jobs,” and she said the college was “working with local authorities to ensure this error is corrected.”
The county attorney’s office filed a motion later that day declining to pursue charges and removing the bail conditions.
Gonzales and Hampton celebrated the news but also acknowledged that their experience demonstrated how “fragile” press freedom is. “What happened last week was really a clear threat to the free press…,” Hampton told The D at the time. “I’m more fired up than ever about being a journalist.”
Both before and after the ordeal, they spoke out publicly about their arrests and what it meant for press freedom. They appeared on CNN, New Hampshire Public Radio and elsewhere, sending a clear message to administrators, law enforcement and everyone that student journalists serve an important role and will defend their rights.
“I am filled with gratitude to be able to accept this award,” Gonzales said. “I could never have imagined that my freshman year would end in arrest, but I’m immensely appreciative of my journalism family at The Dartmouth and the Uvalde Leader-News for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout this journey. I’d especially like to thank the Student Press Law Center for their guidance during a difficult time following our arrests, and their steadfast dedication to seeing student journalists succeed. Journalism has become an incredibly important part of my life, and I’m passionate about continuing this path as I move forward in my career.”
“I’m thrilled to receive the Courage in Student Journalism Award,” Hampton said. “Our arrests should serve as a reminder of the importance of protecting the rights of student journalists. I’m deeply grateful to the SPLC for all their support at a deeply stressful time.“
Finalists
Salomé Cloteaux, Indiana University
Salomé Cloteaux, former editor-in-chief of the Indiana Daily Student, is recognized for her transparent and thoughtful response to community complaints about their coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
Following the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the IDS worked to cover local reactions from a variety of perspectives. Each successive piece, whether news or opinion, was met with growing criticism from different segments of readers — much of it centered on the coverage, but IDS staff members also faced threats, harassment and intimidation.
This pressure was not unique to the IDS. Many student journalists across the country — both high school and college — faced similar community backlash while covering such a deeply divided and sensitive subject.
But to address her community’s concerns and the threats against her staff, Cloteaux published a letter from the editor that has become a model for others — student or otherwise — in how to respond to similar situations. The letter takes the feedback seriously, explains the publication process and why her team made the decisions they did, and reiterates why the IDS must cover these issues fairly and independently.
Cloteaux’s letter is a courageous example of walking toward — not away from — conversations with readers, while firmly standing behind her staff in a difficult time.
“I am incredibly grateful to be a finalist for this prestigious award, but this honor belongs to the staff of the Indiana Daily Student, who put themselves at risk every day to report the truth in the face of harassment and backlash,” Cloteaux said. “They deserve all the recognition, and being their editor was already the greatest honor for me. The bravery, compassion and tenacity with which the student journalists at the IDS and across the country reported on the impact of the Israel-Hamas war in their communities will forever inspire me.”
Hannah Epstein, Bryn Mawr College & Haverford College
Hannah Epstein of the Bi-College News is recognized for overcoming administrative obstruction and intimidation to report on serious concerns with how cases of sexual assault and harassment were handled at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, two closely related but separate institutions outside Philadelphia.
Epstein’s yearlong, in-depth investigation “discovered what appears to be a pattern — dating back to at least 2019 — of Bryn Mawr and Haverford denying students their legal right to a hearing in a Title IX investigation.”
Since the story was published in December 2023, the two colleges made significant changes to their shared Title IX office, including splitting what was a single Title IX coordinator position into two roles. Administrators have also hired additional staff and organized more educational programs about sexual assault and campus rape culture.
Throughout her reporting, Epstein said she faced hostility from school officials who refused to share even basic information about the Title IX office and who put pressure on her to drop the story. Instead, she went around official sources to speak with more than 20 individuals and used emails, texts and other sources to corroborate their stories. She also educated herself about the law so she knew what information she was entitled to and how best to protect her sources while reporting on such sensitive issues.
“I am also grateful to the Student Press Law Center for the guidance and advice they gave me throughout the Bi-Co News’s investigation into the Title IX office at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges,” Epstein said. “In particular, the support of Ellen Goodrich and Jonathan Gaston-Falk was especially helpful to me and my editors when the paper was confronted by pushback from school administrators.
“Throughout the year I spent reporting, I found myself consistently in awe of the courage of my peers. The bravery students like Jeanne Wolkiewicz and Sandra displayed by speaking to me on the record and sharing their stories was crucial to the article’s publication. I also want to thank my editors at the Bi-Co News, Helen Ehrlich and Etta Washburn, who never wavered or lost faith in the story.
“It is my sincere hope that this recognition from the SPLC will spur even more change on our campus and lead to the needed system-wide reform for how the victims of sexual assault are treated, not only at Bryn Mawr and Haverford but on college campuses across the country.”
About the award
The Reveille Seven Courage in Student Journalism Award recognizes student journalists who have demonstrated exceptional determination and support for student press freedom, despite resistance or difficult circumstances. The award honors the legacy of the Reveille Seven, a group of Louisiana State University student journalists who were expelled in 1934 after publishing criticism of Louisiana Gov. Huey Long. SPLC presents the honor in partnership with the Associated Collegiate Press and the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication, which sponsors a $2,000 prize to the winner. Prior winners dating back to 2001 can be found here.
This year’s recipients were selected by an advisory committee of journalists and journalism educators, including Ellen Austin, retired high school journalism teacher and adjunct faculty at Kent State’s School of Media and Journalism; Steven Holmes, former executive director of standards and practices at CNN and SPLC board member; and Gary Green, SPLC executive director.
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The Student Press Law Center (splc.org) is a nonpartisan nonprofit that promotes, supports and defends the First Amendment and free press rights of student journalists. Operating since 1974, SPLC provides information, training and legal assistance at no charge to high school and college student journalists and the educators who work with them. SPLC also supports the grassroots, student-led New Voices movement, which seeks to protect student press freedom through state laws. Learn more about our impact.