On Wednesday, The Daily Pennsylvanian signed onto an amicus brief filed by the Student Press Law Center in support of The Stanford Daily in its lawsuit, Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation et al. v. Rubio et al.
The DP joined 54 other student media organizations and newsroom leaders across the country — as well as the SPLC, the Associated College Press, and the College Media Association — to support the Daily’s lawsuit, which challenges Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s use of federal immigration law to incite visa revocations for international students and deportations for constitutionally protected speech.
By joining this brief, the DP stands with international students on our staff and nationwide in their right to free speech, and we affirm our commitment to ensuring that right is protected and valued in our newsroom and beyond.
As Penn’s independent student newspaper, we pride ourselves on telling the stories of our community and bringing awareness to the issues that matter most. Over the past 10 months, the DP has seen and reported on the challenges that international students have faced, and our staff remains committed to telling those stories and supporting international students — and our international staffers in the newsroom.
Since January, we have reported on multiple waves of student visa revocations on our campus, speaking with experts across the University community and politicians across Philadelphia to better understand the magnitude of those actions. We have reported on resources, support, and guidance provided by Penn’s International Scholar and Student Services office and evaluated what effects legislative actions could have on both our international student community and our University as a whole. And our Opinion section has worked to spur Penn to action, urging administrators to support the international student community amid visa revocations and executive actions affecting other schools.
Our board of editors and managers has worked with those in our newsroom and from the broader community to navigate difficult conversations and takedown requests, upholding our editorial standards and the quality of our journalism while acknowledging the heightened challenges that the international community has faced.
Our board’s decision to sign this brief was not made lightly. The DP remains committed to its mission of informing and driving conversation around Penn’s campus and beyond. We strive to support our international staff members, tell the international student community’s stories, and publish objective, quality journalism for the Penn community.
The full amicus brief is available here.
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EMILY SCOLNICK is a College senior studying history and communication from Wayne, Pa. She currently serves as the DP Editor-in-Chief on the 141st Board of The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. Her email is scolnick@thedp.com.
