CON V ERGING CA MPUS & COMMU NIT Y
NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
NWMISSOURINEWS.COM
VOL. 113, NO. 11
@THEMISSOURIAN
Note from STUDENT PROTESTS 2/7 AND 2/8 the editors: We are not your enemy
SPECIAL EDITION: This week’s paper is devoted to stories about the Feb. 3 announcement of campus restructuring and its aftermath.
SAVANNAH ATHY-SEDBROOK Editor-in-Chief | @SavannahAS2 HANNAH CLAYWELL Managing Editor | @Hannah_9504
The Northwest Missourian is an independent student-run newspaper with a primary responsibility to our readers: the students, faculty, staff and alumni at Northwest; members of the Maryville community; and those residing in Nodaway County. We dedicate our time each week to make sure our readers stay up to date. Northwest’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion has been dissolved, according to an email sent to Northwest faculty and staff 4 p.m. Feb. 3 by University President Lance Tatum. This is a decision that affects the student body, including our staff. Please remember through these emotional and tense times that we are students too. This being said, the First Amendment rights of students in attendance of a discussion held in the former office Feb. 4 might have been violated. The main purpose of this meeting was to inform students about next steps and what the dissolving of the office may look like — important information everyone affected wants to know. However, our staff in attendance was asked to leave and told the meeting would be closed. This is unacceptable and a blatant violation of our First Amendment rights. This meeting was advertised to student groups, but every Northwest student was welcome to attend — except for Missourian staff. As journalists, we have a right to cover any meeting held at a public institution, particularly one at an office funded by student fees. Based on accounts of students in attendance, participants were advised not to speak to our staff. We want students, including our staff members, to be aware of their rights. No one is required to speak to the Missourian, and we would not force them to. However, administrators blatantly not allowing anyone associated with our publication to attend the meeting and forbidding students to make their voices heard is illegal. Students were so afraid to talk to us while we stood asking for interviews; we were repeatedly told “I’m not comfortable with that.” By the time the meeting was over no one would look us in the eyes, and many hostile expressions were thrown at us. At this point, few students would even stop walking to hear what we had to say. Again, no one is required to talk to us, but professionals scaring students into silence is unacceptable. The Missourian is a platform for all students to speak their truth and give a voice to the voiceless. Our publication reaches national audiences, including state representatives who impacted this decision. We are not your enemy. We are here to represent the student body and issues impacting you. Let us do our duty to you as our readers. As the media leaders of the Missourian, we speak on behalf of our publication when we say we are crushed at the treatment of our staff doing their jobs. We would not be the award-winning paper we are if we let this go unreported. Please email northwestmissourian@gmail.com if you have any questions or wish to make a statement regarding this issue.
NATHAN NODA ASST. PHOTO EDITOR
Northwest sophomores Bella Comparato, Jay Messenger and Christopher Morris dance to music while protesting the dissolution of the Northwest Office of Diversity and Inclusion Feb. 7. Messenger organized the protest which occurred Feb. 7 and 8.
DAKOTA OSWALT NEWS EDITOR
Students protest outside of the Administration Building Feb. 7. Tatum announced the dissolution of the ODI in an email Feb. 3 to faculty and staff.
NATHAN NODA ASST. PHOTO EDITOR
Northwest freshman Milo Graves gets kisses from a dog passing by during the protest Feb. 7. The protest was planned on YikYak and other social media.
NATHAN VANDRUFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Northwest freshman Jadon Ansel writes a message in chalk on the sidewalk in front of the Administration Building Feb. 8.
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1914.
NATHAN NODA ASST. PHOTO EDITOR
Northwest junior Noah Cornelius joins the ODI protest Feb. 7, holding a sign. The dissolution is a part of the University’s academic restructuring initiative.
PLEASE
RECYCLE