AMBER MATTICE
Managing Editor
Student Press Freedom Day was on Jan. 30 and, since this issue of “The Leader” is out exactly one week later, I wanted to take this opportunity to express some opinions on freedom of the press as well as having the opportunity to work for a campus newspaper.
I joined the paper when I was a freshman. It was the first thing that I decided to do despite being a meek and uncertain little journalism major. It was intimidating. Terrifying, even. But I knew that I wanted to experience the environment that campus media would present to me and I knew the possibilities were endless when it came to expressing myself.
In my four years working across various positions, I have covered the resignation of a professor due to gender-based pay inequity, I have written about our publication receiving a letter from the KKK, I have ranted about feminism and its importance in society and I have expressed an emotional “thank you” to journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of the truth.
I have been able to cover these topics and so many more because of the freedom that writing for a newspaper allows. I have expressed my opinion and been given an outlet by joining this newspaper and I genuinely cannot imagine my college career without “The Leader” playing such a huge role in how I shaped my time here.
Starting as that scared, shy little human that hardly ever spoke above a whisper and becoming who I am now (a take-no-shit, opinionated woman) I realize now more than ever, how crucial press freedom has been to my own personal journey.
Having the opportunity to break huge stories on my campus and share my thoughts on events happening globally is such a unique and overwhelmingly rewarding practice.
As a senior getting ready to graduate in a few months, my knowledge of the world around is owed, in large amount, to the media that I am surrounded by everyday. The access I have to information and the ability to read and research countless arguments has allowed me to learn everyday.
In the society that we are in now, where the press is considered the enemy of the people and good journalism is pushed aside and deemed “fake news,” an appreciation for press freedom is lacking. Without it, I could not have written this. Without it, this paper would not even exist and you wouldn’t be reading about the plethora of happenings occurring around you that you might not have been aware of.
Whether it is a big or small story, freedom of the press is a part of everyday life.
To take that for granted is selfish and ignorant.
I have decided to pursue a career reliant on press freedom because pursuing truth and questioning the world around me is a passion more than just a career.
Journalism. Social Media. Writing. Voicing my opinions. Sharing those ideas. All of these things are values of mine that I would never give up because they have all shaped me in becoming the journalist and writer that I am today.
I would encourage everyone to utilize the avenues for change that are, quite literally, at your fingertips and exercise your rights to freedom of the press every chance you get.
If we do, change is imminent and how exciting is it to know that your words could change someone’s life, if not the world, in any number of ways?
Pretty dang exciting if you ask me.