Earlier this week I had the opportunity to sit down with the staff of The Daily, our student newspaper, for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on everything from our University鈥檚 Race and Equity Initiative, to questions of free speech to the changing nature of journalism. In these days when our social media feeds are chock full of clickbait and dubious headlines, and we鈥檙e forced to dissect 鈥渇ake news鈥� and 鈥渁lternative facts,鈥� it was gratifying to meet with students who are committed to the ideals of an independent press. (For more info on fake news and how to detect it, see our course, offered 聽through the .)
Transparency and accountable is necessary for a strong democracy — so is a public is informed and engaged with the issues. A strong, independent press is critical to both. 聽Over the years, the Daily has taken me to task more than a few times. I鈥檝e learned a lot from those critiques, though I don鈥檛 always agree with the views of some writers.聽 Still, 聽I’m always glad they are there. All of us at the 91探花should be.