The Student Press Law Center and the Associated Collegiate Press are proud to honor University of Texas-Dallas student journalists Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez and Maria Shaikh, along with the staff of The Retrograde, with the 2025 Reveille Seven Courage in Student Journalism Award.
The Student Press Law Center and the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project are proud to honor Michigan State University student journalists Alex Walters, Theo Scheer and Owen McCarthy with the 2025 Student Freedom of Information Award. Four other reporting teams were recognized as finalists.
The Student Press Law Center and two courageous student journalists came together Sept. 16 for an important and timely conversation about the “unprecedented” moment in student media.
The Student Press Law Center’s trainings and legal resources equip student journalists to navigate the law, report with confidence and stand up for press freedom.
We started hearing concerns from student journalists through our Legal Hotline as federal immigration raids and increased surveillance were ramping up. But it was the arrest of Tufts University international student Rümeysa Öztürk — for merely writing an op-ed in a student newspaper — that made the stakes unmistakably clear.
Dilan Gohill was arrested while covering a student protest at the university’s president’s office in June 2024. Wearing a press badge and holding a camera, Gohill was clearly there to cover the event, yet he was detained alongside demonstrators, spent 15 hours in custody and faced potential felony charges.
In a dramatic and courageous stand for press freedom last fall, the staff of The Mercury at the University of Texas at Dallas went on strike following administrators’ controversial firing of their editor. Now, with the support of the Student Press Law Center and our partners, they operate a new student newspaper, The Retrograde, completely independent of the university.
The Student Press Law Center is proud to announce a generous $500,000 gift from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to expand its efforts to defend and advance the free press rights of high school and college student journalists.
Pratika Katiyar's unwavering commitment to student press freedom began in high school. Now an activist working in privacy at the ACLU, Pratika's connection with the Student Press Law Center started in a moment of uncertainty.
The Student Press Law Center and 18 other journalism and free speech organizations wrote to Columbia University and Barnard College today to express concern over the institutions’ “appalling treatment” of student journalists.
