The Mercury, the University of Texas at Dallas student newspaper, is on strike.
Staff with The Mercury announced the strike Monday to demand the immediate reinstatement of editor-in-chief Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, who was removed from his position Friday by the school's student media operating board.
Student Media Director Lydia Lum called the meeting to remove Olivares Gutierrez. In a letter submitted to board members, Lum alleged Olivares Gutierrez violated student media bylaws including holding multiple student jobs, causing budget overruns and not allowing Lum to perform her job.
The paper's staff, meanwhile, says the top editor's removal is retaliation for critical coverage in the wake of the May 1 pro-Palestinian student encampment.
Since the May 1 protest, the staff's former advisor was demoted, travel to conferences was paused and print editions have been removed from newsstand kiosks, according to Managing Editor Maria Shaikh.
"We believe that these are all, while maybe not necessarily part of a grand plan to shut The Mercury down or anything like that, ultimately harm us and ultimately make student expression and free journalism and investigation and accountability here on campus a lot harder than they need to be," she said.
May 1 was the same day both Shaikh and Olivares Gutierrez assumed their leadership roles.
Olivares Gutierrez, who has been at The Mercury for a year, is appealing his removal. If he is not reinstated, Shaikh will serve as acting editor-in-chief with responsibilities divided among the paper's management.
KERA reached out to Lum for comment. She cited university policy and directed KERA to contact the university's media relations staff. A spokesperson for the university declined to comment, citing student privacy laws.
Lum started her role at UT Dallas this summer, Olivares Gutierrez said. But prior to her start and the May 1 encampment, The Mercury had its print edition about suicide prevention pulled from newsstand kiosks.
"Overall, in all of my interactions with campus administrators since I became editor-in-chief, it became really apparent to me that they don't want to talk to the student press," Olivares Gutierrez said.
Allegations against editor-in-chief
In her letter to board members, Lum said she could not make informed decisions on who to send to out-of-town journalism conferences because she did not know the workflow among the staff.
"I am aware that Student Media relies on these conferences due to the lack of journalism and mass media courses offered at UTD," Lum said in her letter. "I am here in-house—with extensive journalism experience—and while some students seem eager for what I can provide to assist them, I am painfully aware of being prevented from the ability to do my job."
In a response published by The Mercury, Olivares Gutierrez said he ran story ideas by Lum, went to her for bureaucratic procedures and gave her presentations on the state of the publication. The one line they had was prior review, he said.
Prior review allows administrators and sources to view or change articles prior to publication. Olivares Gutierrez said in his response he was given an ultimatum of banning their travel for work unless they submitted to prior review.
"We have not bypassed advisor involvement," he said. "We have provided more opportunities for Lydia to be involved in our news process while ensuring our own ethical integrity by maintaining The Mercury's long standing prohibition on prior review."
Jackie Alexander, president of the College Media Association — which describes itself as the nation's largest organization serving collegiate media advisers — said prior review not only makes a university liable for the paper's content but it also infringes on student journalists and their First Amendment rights.
"They are really upholding the principles of a free democracy and free journalism," Alexander said of the students. "And that sometimes chafes a bit with the establishment."
Students on strike
The Mercury staff gave the UTD administration until the end of the week to reinstate Olivares Gutierrez. If he is not reinstated, Shaikh said the journalists have permission to cease work on the planned Sept. 30 publication.
They also plan to continue under a new online publication independent of administrative oversight if Olivares Gutierrez is not reinstated.
"In my opinion, it serves as the one true voice students have to represent themselves," Olivares Gutierrez said of The Mercury. "And to strip that from the students and demand that it be nothing more than another mouthpiece of the student body through the perception of what administration thinks the student body ought to be is something I find untenable."
As of Tuesday, The Mercury changed its Instagram handle to @comet.news so staff can continue providing information during the strike. Their Mercury emails were disabled on Monday, and Instagram is the primary way to contact the staff.
In addition to reinstating Olivares Gutierrez as editor-in-chief, the students demanded anyone in violation of student media bylaws be given an opportunity of remediation instead of dismissal, and the editor-in-chief to be democratically elected.
The Mercury is not the first student publication to go on strike. The Mercury staff also join professional media outlet unions that have gone on strike for better working conditions, like the Fort Worth NewsGuild.
"Our students are so incredibly in touch with their values, they are so incredibly in touch with what is right and what's wrong, what is justice for them," Alexander said. "And we see that also reflected in the professional media sphere with a number of professional outlets that are leading their own strikes, that are creating their own view, that are demanding better treatment and better pay from the organizations that own them. Our student journalists are doing the same."
Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.
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