Should a Student Reporter Face Prosecution for Embedding with Protesters?
On the evening of June 4, the Stanford Daily’s Slack channel was bursting with energy. Student journalists had just learned that the past eight months of standoffs between pro-Palestinian protesters and university administrators were coming to a head with some kind of occupation or sit-in the next morning—the last class day of the school year.
One student—freshman Dilan Gohill, nineteen—was especially engaged, according to the text threads. “Hey guys!! I heard y’all are in contact with SAAP [Students Against Apartheid in Palestine] abt a possible action tmrw—I was planning on covering tmrw morn and have been talking with them.… Is it cool if I cover?”
Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest
The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.
The White House vs. the press | Voiceless America