On Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, Indiana University stopped the print edition of their student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student.
The newspaper began in 1867 and has been printed with various frequencies through its 158 years.
The editors of the paper received an email two days before their next print edition was to be distributed on campus, alerting them that all future printing of the Indiana Daily Student newspaper would cease.
The IU administration said financial strain halted the print editions, but the IU student journalists see the move as a trampling of their First Amendment rights.
This notice from the IU administration came after disputes over IU’s news coverage.
Before the print editions stopped, the IU Media School directed editors to only print news coverage related to homecoming in their next issue, instead of their usual coverage of both campus and city news.
The IU Director of Student Media, Jim Rondenbush, refused to stop printing news coverage after he was ordered to. IU fired him in response.
The editors of the Indiana Daily Student attempted to get the administration to retract the order to fire him, but IU subsequently ordered the print editions of the newspaper end.
The Indiana Student Journal is still publishing its stories online. Purdue University, IU’s longtime rival, delivered a special edition of its student-run newspaper to the IU campus.
This edition of Purdue’s newspaper was headlined “We Student Journalists Must Stand Together.” The Exponent staff offered to continue to print the Indiana Daily Student. The Daily Student declined, citing fear of administration retribution.
Indiana University’s situation is not unique.
There have been a recent increase in university censorship of student newspapers. Even Purdue University’s student newspaper cannot completely escape the current political climate of censorship.
Purdue’s administration has attempted to make it difficult for student journalists to find information about the university when reporting campus news.
Political polarization has added another layer of conflict to student newspapers and university administrations, as some universities seek to control the narrative of the student newspaper.
These conflicts have put student journalists in a position to make an impossible decision: dedication to the first amendment and unbiased news in an age of misinformation, or doing whatever it takes to survive and stay on campuses.
