Student journalism is under attack. The Exponent is no exception.

The following is an editorial from the Exponent's editor-in-chief, Seth Nelson.

On Tuesday, the Indiana Daily Student, IU's student newspaper, dropped a bombshell that many of us already saw coming: Starting in the spring, the IDS will stop printing physical newspapers — a cost-saving measure decided by university administration.

According to the IDS, the countless students who work as editors, reporters, photographers and designers in the IDS' office, only heard about the change through a university press release.

What's happening at IU is far from unique. For years across the country, student journalism has been in extreme danger, teetering on the precipice of collapse, and the IDS is yet another example of university news organizations being sidelined — or outright killed.

Something similar happened with the Exponent nearly six decades ago. After our paper ran articles critical of Purdue administration in the '60s, the university fired our editor-in-chief and attempted to shut the newspaper down. An ensuing public fight between the Exponent's staff and Purdue resulted in us becoming entirely independent, both editorially and financially.

The Exponent is one of only a few student newspapers in the country that doesn't receive any funding from its university. We aren't part of Purdue's communications school, our advisers aren't faculty and our operations aren't funded by students' tuition.

This freedom has allowed the Exponent a greater deal of latitude than you might see at other student newspapers. We can publish whatever we want without fear of direct retribution from Purdue.

But even we aren't exempt from the rising tempo of attacks on student journalism.

For years, Purdue administration, being unable to outright deny us access or control what we write, has taken a different route: Making it incredibly hard to do our jobs and get any information from the university.

Similarly to the Exponent of decades ago, in September this year, the staff of the University of Texas at Dallas' student newspaper, The Mercury, went on strike after the university fired their editor-in-chief for allegedly violating a few bylaws.

According to the The Mercury's staff, the firing was one of several "retaliatory actions" against the newspaper by UT Dallas administration after they extensively reported on last year's pro-Palestine protests. Other alleged retaliations included the demotion of their adviser, restrictions on travel to journalism conferences, changes to pay structures and an $8,000 invoice for a public records request, the staff told The Nutgraf, a student journalism-focused newsletter.

That same month, Penn State too had its own stir. The university announced it would no longer be allowing its student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, to distribute papers on campus, after the paper ran an advertisement for Kamala Harris.

What's the common theme of these cases? University control. It's hard to argue that influence from university administration isn't having an effect.

Almost every student news organization in the country is directly or indirectly controlled by its university. This can come in several forms: A newspaper may be directly associated with the university's media school, receiving funding and guidance but still editorially independent, like in the case of the IDS, or it may be "editorially independent" outside of the media school but not financially, like in the case of The Mercury.

According to a study from University of Florida’s Brechner Freedom of Information Project, roughly 56% of student newspapers in the country receive direct funding from their universities. Many of the rest get it indirectly, either through guaranteed advertising sales or student organization funds.

When student journalism relies so heavily on funds, support and guidance from university administrations (the very institutions student journalists are tasked with watchdogging), it's not a leap to assume universities might use their influence as a cudgel to beat a student news organization into submission.

Getting in contact with anyone affiliated with Purdue is difficult, nigh impossible, for the Exponent. Professors, out of fear of saying "the wrong things," direct simple questions about their research to Purdue's marketing department. Purdue will only give comment or information on anything through a single spokesperson, who — no matter which gatekeeper is in the position — frequently fails to respond to emails or calls, or doesn't answer basic questions.

Even things that are legally enshrined as public information are rebuffed by Purdue. Last month, when the Exponent called the Purdue Police Department for information on an alleged kidnapping on campus, PUPD told us to contact Purdue's marketing department instead.

Public records, too, are difficult. Filing a public records request with the university — a process that is federally protected — happens solely through Purdue's legal department, and requests take months to process. A request for simple contract we made in May still hasn't been answered. A request for a handful of emails made last summer took Purdue 10 months to return to the Exponent, and when they finally came they were heavily redacted.

Purdue President Mung Chiang also hasn't met with the Exponent's staff in person once (a tradition that was regularly observed yearly by former presidents, including Mitch Daniels) since an initial interview when he was appointed last year.

Years ago, a thesis published at Ohio University called the Exponent "Purdue's gadfly." Our independence, the argument went, was what made us a constant thorn in the side of Purdue administration.

What better way for Purdue to fix that problem, than to make its own newspaper?

Recently, Purdue administration's official newsletter, which is sent to students, faculty and staff and contains a plethora of press releases from the university, changed its slogan, calling itself "the official weekly newspaper of Purdue University."

The newsletter now includes puzzles (a time-honored hallmark of physical Exponent papers) and photo galleries formatted like ours, all in between a pile of press releases masquerading as journalism very similar to our own.

The attempt here is clear: Purdue appears to be trying to indirectly sideline the Exponent. If Purdue has an official newspaper now, why would students need to read the Exponent? Why should faculty do interviews with our reporters and not Purdue's?

The recent attacks on student journalism across the country — at Penn State, at UT Dallas and now at IU — should be a scary development for any student, faculty or staff member at an American university. Student newspapers are some of the only publications in the country that regularly keep universities in check, watching the moves of administrators and keeping back-door developments in the light.

So what happens when those watchdogs go away?

Despite the direct and indirect assaults on student news organizations nationwide, the Exponent will continue operating as it has: independently and without fear of Purdue. But we can't keep being Purdue's gadfly without the support of our readers.

Of course, you can donate to keep the Exponent running at this link, but your support means more than that. Keep picking up our papers, reading us online, following our socials, sending us tips on what we should cover and most importantly, supporting the hundreds of students across the United States, including here at Purdue, who work every day to keep their campus communities informed.