College journalists have recently found themselves at the center of the stories they are covering.
State officials in Florida are calling for an investigation into former University of Florida President Ben Sasse after The Independent Florida Alligator, UF’s student newspaper, highlighted his increased spending during his two years in office.
Last summer, the president of Stanford University resigned after an investigation stemming from allegations of research misconduct in past academic papers; allegations that were published in The Stanford Daily campus newspaper.
In an Oct. 12, 2023, article by Associated Press writer David Bauder, Jackie Alexander, president of the College Media Association (of which The Bison is a member), said of the students who spearheaded the investigations, “They are unafraid. They are digging deep. They are really living up to the values and principles of being journalists while also being full-time students.”
Most college newspapers will never gain national exposure. Nor is that their purpose. But isn’t Alexander’s description how we want our Harding student journalists to be described?
Journalism is a public good. Whether it’s holding local officials accountable or shedding light on serial sexual abusers, journalists are called to speak truth to power and serve as a voice for those who don’t have one. From my perspective, it’s also biblical, aligned with Jesus’ example of serving “the least of these” and the Old Testament prophets’ message of seeking justice.
Investigative journalist Jerry “Boo” Mitchell is arguably The Bison’s most famous alumnus. He won a MacArthur “Genius Grant” and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. But he wasn’t always appreciated during his time as a student journalist.
“Oh, my, they didn’t know what to do with us,” Mitchell said of the University administration’s perception of his fellow student journalists and their work. “We were young journalists trying to practice our craft, but we sometimes wondered if they believed we were all sitting in The Bison newsroom trying to plot the overthrow of Harding or something.”
Although Mitchell’s professional work would later lead to the convictions of Klansmen in the 1963 assassination of Mississippi NAACP official Medgar Evers, the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that killed four Black girls, and the 1964 slayings of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andy Goodman and Mickey Schwerner, The Bison story he believes had the biggest impact was one he wrote about cafeteria prices.
“…I wrote about cafeteria prices skyrocketing by 15% or so, but the meal ticket staying the same,” Mitchell said. “In my column, I challenged any administrator to try and make it a week on my meal ticket. Joe McReynolds kindly took me up on my offer and wound up failing miserably. Kay Williams did a news story on it, and the next semester, the administration created a larger meal ticket so that students could survive.”
His subsequent work followed a mission he developed as a Bison reporter.
“Journalism is more than a job; it’s a calling,” Mitchell said. “By pursuing truth, we are pursuing what God loves. And by serving others in his name, especially the ‘least of these,’ we are showing our love to him.”
The importance of the work student journalists do is often passed over at the time because it’s in the day-to-day. They are chronicling the highs and the lows, the extraordinary and the mundane of campus life. They are giving students an opportunity to voice concerns and criticisms, record school pride and celebrate achievements. This opportunity also extends to the community we call home. We live at a time when local journalism is dramatically decreasing, and unfortunately, Searcy is part of that national trend. In response to this void, The Bison has a dedicated page highlighting our community.
This year, The Bison student newspaper celebrates its 100th anniversary. Although it started as the Petit Jean Collegian from the Morrilton campus in December 1925, the second volume was titled The Bison, with J.N. Armstrong himself on record as faculty adviser.
Under “Our Aim,” the staff wrote, “We aim in this paper to reflect the student life at Harding College, to the best of our ability, as it really is. If the paper is not what you think it should be just ask yourself if you have helped in any way to make it a better paper before you criticize.”
This aim still resonates 100 years later. The Bison staff members and writers are among the most earnest and sincere students you will encounter. They are asking the big questions. They want to tell the story of Harding as they witness it in a given year. They are seeking truth.
So thank you — President Williams, faculty, students, deans, other administrators too numerous to name individually, staff, coaches, athletes, and members of the greater Searcy community —for taking their calls, emails, texts and office visits and making time in your calendars for their questions as they seek to make you the center of Harding’s story through the pages of The Bison newspaper.
