The Berkeley Beacon stands with The Tufts Daily.
After the detainment in broad daylight of Rumeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University doctoral student arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of her Somerville home on March 25, there are no rules. Öztürk was seemingly targeted because of an opinion piece she co-authored in The Tufts Daily in support of Palestine, which chastised the university.
On April 2, one week after Öztürk’s detainment, Tufts issued a blanket statement of support for her due process rights and maintained that the op-ed did not violate any of the school’s expression policies. The memo, signed by Tufts President Sunil Kumar, made clear the stance of support the leadership is trying to convey across campus.
It makes us wonder as students, but also student journalists, who is here to support us?
We recognize the difficult position the Daily is in. In many ways, The Beacon faces similar challenges. Both schools are under federal investigation for alleged Title IV violations related to “antisemitic harassment and discrimination,” a threat that can be traced back to the pro-Palestine activism at both campuses in recent semesters. Despite Emerson’s motto of “expression necessary to evolution,” only Tufts has taken a public stance against the federal government’s unconstitutional threats.
Like everybody at Emerson, our reporters face an uncertain political climate. We wonder how we can best protect our most vulnerable sources and writers when our institution has yet to acknowledge the panic our campus is feeling.
The Beacon always aims to protect our sources and writers while maintaining credibility as a newspaper. It is imperative that people who are privileged enough to not worry about their visa status on a daily basis use that safety net and speak out on behalf of those who feel they cannot during this time.
It is essential to protect the sanctity, integrity, and legitimacy of our publication as an independent reporting body to include verifiable voices in our coverage, especially about consequential events like those we’re living in right now. Anonymity in our reporting is not a crutch—it is a last resort. As reporters, we become liable for any information we attribute to an anonymous source. As a publication, that responsibility transfers to our entire editorial board.
Outside of that, we don’t have the answers. There seem to be no answers.
The Beacon’s team of managing editors has met with the journalism department’s faculty. We’ve spoken with the Office of International Student Affairs. We’ve conferred with our Advisory Board, chaired by our faculty advisor, which serves as a consulting tool to guide our ethics. But no one can give us an absolute answer about what kind of protections we have as student journalists.
We must disperse enough information to mitigate risk without inciting more panic than necessary. Don’t assume risk, but don’t downplay it, either.
So, how does a newspaper do that?
Because Emerson has not come out with any actual statement of support for the community, there is no continuity in what we are being told to do. Our student body is fractured along political lines, and the leaders we look to for guidance are not sure whether to tell us to hunker down or take a stand.
The past year and a half has been a highly polarized, divisive time in our country and on our campus. Student organizations, affiliated and not, have been pitted against each other. Our student body has struggled to find a middle ground on issues such as the historic Israel-Palestine conflict, wherein the four-day encampment in support of Palestinians in Gaza led to the arrest of 118 and effectively severed our student body—and any chances of sustaining a united front.
In the midst of all this conflict, one truth persists: We are all students. And when students in our own cities are being snatched off the street by plain-clothed federal agents, we would be remiss if we did not take this moment to address our own divided student body.
Emerson College will not save you. They have already chosen not to take a stand at this moment to offer support to international students, student journalists, or students in general.
Assurance that they are actively working to find a solution for us would be nice. But since they haven’t provided us with that, here’s what we’ll say: We want to be brave, but we have to be safe. Be mindful of your digital hygiene, and any political dissent you have partaken in that could possibly be misconstrued as a threat to democracy. By all means, we must stick together, as students, as journalists, and as people. It is the only way we will make it through this.
Panic has already set in. It has to be faced.
We understand that the college finds itself at a crossroads. But it should make a decision: Either to acquiesce to the federal administration’s demands, or take a stand and make a statement of unwavering support for its student body. In the wake of the college’s silence, it seems like the former is our current reality.
