To the Editors of Technician and The Nubian Message, and all whom it concerns,

I am writing as a member of Student Government leadership and a Student Senator to express serious concerns about how the recent votes on Student Media funding proceeded. Per procedure and out of respect for the institution of Student Government, I want to be clear that I speak only for myself and the office I hold.

This year, during the annual tuition and fees request cycle, Student Government once again held the important responsibility to provide formal recommendations on proposed student fee increases. This happens in two parts: the Senate votes on individual senate resolutions, and the Student Body President, Senate President and Student Body Treasurer vote on the University Fee Review Committee, co-chaired by the Senate President and the Vice Chancellor and Dean for Academic and Student Affairs. The Student Senate voted “no” on Student Media’s request, with debate centering on rising student costs, a push toward digital media and concerns about increased printing expenses.

Frankly, I am disappointed that Student Government effectively voted to defund Student Media, a move that some members have long promised to do. To defund our student press at a time when public media and free speech are under attack is not only disheartening but deeply telling about the state of our campus community. Yes, some senators voted in their conscience and in alignment with constituents who opposed higher fees. But as an institution, we voted “no” on this request and several others while simultaneously voting “yes” to increase the funding we receive ourselves.

At a moment when censorship and political pressure are reshaping the media landscape nationally, it is more crucial than ever that our own institutions protect the ability to report freely and independently without fear of retaliation.

College campuses are often described as microcosms of our broader society. Student governments are meant to be training grounds for the leaders some of us will become. If we claim to be the hope of tomorrow, we cannot replicate the failures we see today. Yet right now, by refusing to protect and invest in our own student media, our strongest vessel of student expression, we are failing in our duty.

Our student body is watching what we choose to protect and what we choose to abandon. In a moment when free speech is strained and student journalism remains one of the few places where truth can still be pursued without political or institutional pressure, the decisions we make here matter more than many are willing to admit. When we fail to defend our own press, we signal both to ourselves and the world that we are willing to trade principle for convenience and courage for comfort.

We cannot let that be who we are. And we cannot let that be how our generation starts.

If we are serious about shaping a better world than the one we are inheriting, then we, as the future leaders of that world, must do better within our own institutions. We must choose differently. We must choose boldly. Student Media is not optional; it is essential. When appropriately supported and operating correctly, it is a safeguard against misinformation, a platform for accountability and one of the last places on this campus where students can challenge power without fear.

So I am calling on every senator, every student leader and every student who believes in the power of a free press: stand firm when this request returns. Do not look away. Do not hide behind discomfort or short-term pressure. Support our student media. Defend free speech. Protect the students who work every day to report the truth, even when it is inconvenient.

If we want a world that is freer, fairer and more honest than the one we see today, then it starts with us choosing to be better — right now, right here, on our campus. Let us show the courage this moment demands. Let us choose to defend the truth.