I’m Meredith Goldstein, a ‘99 graduate and a Daily Orange alum who now works for The Boston Globe.
Since March 25, I have watched my Globe colleagues report on the arrest and subsequent detainment of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University student who wrote an op-ed in the independent student-run daily paper, The Tufts Daily.
It’s been frightening.
I’ve thought a lot about freedom of the press – particularly the student press.
As I read The Tufts Daily’s coverage of Öztürk’s detainment and the university’s response, I have thought about The Daily Orange, the place where I learned how to write and report. Like The Tufts Daily, The Daily Orange is independent from the university it covers.
I have been worried about the D.O.'s ability to protect journalists and sources. When it comes to resources, I also worry about the D.O 's reserve for covering news that might involve travel, legal resources, accessing documents, and wages for students who are spending nights and weekends covering this important moment in time.
The Daily Orange happens to be launching a fundraising campaign right now, a feel-good ask that tells you how the D.O. has built the careers of so many, including me. But as a graduate who watches the state of free press and the war against it, I implore you: go big for this one if you can. I want students to return this fall with the resources to report, write, and tell necessary stories while protecting themselves and their peers.
These threats to the press are not subtle. It’s not cheap or easy to fight them.
Our next generation of journalists is in training as we speak. Let’s get them ready.