Power doesn’t panic: Trump, the First Amendment and college campus suppression

The First Amendment is America’s most fundamental protective document. 

Unless you’re in college.

Since launching his second presidential campaign in 2024, Donald Trump has set his sights on higher education. From there, he’s created a culture where student voices are routinely suppressed.

Earlier this week, the ACLU and Amnesty International published a report alleging that the Trump administration had engaged in widespread suppression of pro-Palestine speech on college campuses.

But crucially, it’s not just the Trump administration doing the suppression.

In their report, the organizations note that many university administrations have taken action against students, staff and faculty. While the administration may act as a coercive force in many cases, it’s not exclusively at fault.

Universities have frequently cracked down on these protests of their own accord. It’s impossible to know the extent, since many of these disciplinary processes are kept out of the public eye.

But speech isn’t the only thing the First Amendment is supposed to protect, nor is it the only thing being suppressed.

Last week, our friends at the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville’s Alestle were reported to the police for an email that was vaguely critical of the school’s administration. This follows a months-long investigation into the university’s controversial “salary sweeps” practice.

Student newspapers are being punished across the country for doing good journalism. Both Indiana University and the University of Alabama saw similar controversies regarding student publications in the last 12 months.

While these two practices may seem unconnected, it’s part of a larger pattern.

Trump seeks to make an example out of college students. In the process, he emboldens colleges to further suppress freedom of expression, knowing they will receive commendation or, in some cases, avoid punishment. Universities have been deputized in their war against ideological diversity.

It’s no coincidence that the administration has focused its attention on colleges. Campuses are hotbeds of activism and resistance, something current leadership doesn’t take kindly to. 

We’ve become a testing ground to see just how far this administration’s suppressive tactics will be allowed to go.

That said, Bradley has done excellent work resisting the administration’s scare tactics. 

They’ve maintained their office of Inclusive Excellence and continued to be receptive to our critiques at The Scout. 

Hell, many of us have not been shy about our own support for Palestine, and never once have we faced backlash from the administration. Our position as a private institution also helps shield us.

But the Trump administration has acted against a university’s wishes before, and will not hesitate to do it again. 

Good journalism keeps us sane in times of chaos. As the saying goes, democracy dies in darkness.

If this administration had its way, all the lights would be off by now.

But publications like the Alestle have helped illuminate the world, and should continue to do so for a long time. Hopefully, this newspaper will too.

Continue to speak out about injustice, whether it’s a genocide in a different hemisphere or a student newspaper in the same state. 

If someone with power tries to tell you what you can and can’t talk about, you know you’re onto something.