Editor’s Note: The Guidon is still firm in its position of not resuming formal journalistic publication until this matter is resolved and the school adopts policies safeguarding its independence. This is not a news story, rather simply a means to update the Norwich community on their status.
Tomorrow, November 21st, there will be a meeting held between the Guidon staff and Provost Karen Gaines to address the current situation and discuss potential ways forward that can both create safe space for student journalists to operate independently as well as have a positive impact on the Norwich community.
It has been over 6 months since the Norwich Guidon was initially suspended back in June. Since then, there have been numerous developments in the situation as well as plenty of correspondence between student staff members and the Provost’s office as well as other administrators.
To offer a brief recap of the current public information, a statement was published by President Broadmeadow and sent out to the Norwich community on October 14th. The statement was an attempt to quell the public debate following a VTDigger article questioning the suspension that was published four days earlier.
President Broadmeadow wrote that he would be “requesting the Provost reinstate the Guidon’s publication as soon as practical”, and that he would also be “directing a code of ethics grounded in widely established journalism norms [to] be drafted for my approval”. As was written in the Guidon’s own statement a month later, administrative involvement of any kind clearly violates well-established academic and professional journalism standards.
In that November 5th statement titled “Why We Won’t Work”, the following 4 requests were made, and it was made clear that “the Guidon will not return to publication until the following conditions are met”:
- Adopt New Voices Protections: The university must implement measures aligned with Vermont’s New Voices law, ensuring the independence of student journalists and protecting our ability to operate without undue influence or censorship.
- Addressing Reputation Impact: We request a clear explanation from the Provost Dr. Karen Gaines regarding the school’s plan to address and remedy the damage to The Guidon’s reputation, intentional or not, to help restore both the paper’s standing and students’ confidence in its future.
- Supportive Statement from DGH: We ask that the Department of Global Humanities adopt a formal statement affirming its support for The Guidon’s independence, including protections from any form of external pressures.
- End External Involvement: We request that any policy requiring The Guidon to submit internal documents for approval be discontinued, and that external influence of any kind cease immediately. This behavior restricts student autonomy and undermines the intellectual freedom essential for an independent press.
As for the most recent updates and insight into the situation, it’s understood that they have not been relayed to our community and there has been a great deal of confusion during this entire ordeal. As with any responsible news organization, The Guidon is committed to transparency and open communication with its audience. Therefore, further updates will be made public when it is appropriate, and an article will be written explaining the larger situation at hand once this matter has been sufficiently resolved.
It has been 2 weeks since this recent statement was published, and the prospect of a meeting has always been one of the end goals. And with this first meeting between the Guidon staff and administration right around the corner, it’s imperative that all parties involved can work to reach a conclusion that both benefits the Norwich community as well as protects the rights of independent student journalists.
