Hi friend,

Student protests helped bring an end to the Vietnam War. Now 50 years later, students are protesting another unjust war. They are calling for their universities to divest from funding the war in Gaza.

In today’s America, it’s not just the anti-war protestors who face severe consequences. If you write an op-ed on divestment in your school newspaper, you could be abducted and held indefinitely in detention by the government.

In this podcast episode, we tell the story of the University of Texas Dallas newspaper, The Mercury, whose staff reported on the campus’ pro-peace protests. In response, their school administration fired the editor in chief and every member of the staff. This effectively shut down the university’s 45 year old newspaper. 

In part one of today’s episode, Willa and Bill interview Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, the former editor in chief of the UT Dallas student newspaper The Mercury before it was destroyed.

Then in part two, we interview Sean Patrick O’Rourke, professor & department chair from Sewanee: The University of the South. Sean discusses the history of free speech in America, and the importance of organized protest. 

Please listen to our show to learn more about the fight to keep local journalism alive on college campuses and prevent news deserts in the US. Every listener matters, and we appreciate you tuning in to our bonus episode. 

More soon,

Willa and Bill

Check out the AMOC website.

Listen and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Buzzsprout, and our website.