Elon’s student newspaper will be featured alongside dozens of other student publications as part of the Year of the Student Journalist celebration.
Each Wednesday for the remainder of the calendar year, The Pendulum’s front page will be on display at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., thanks to a partnership among the Newseum, the Student Press Law Center and the Freedom Forum Institute to recognize 2019 as the Year of the Student Journalist.
The front pages of all weekly editions of the newspaper will be printed and hung in the Newseum’s front-window gallery alongside other front pages from professional and student publications across the country and the world. The display is a museum tradition that dates back to its opening in 2008.
But including student newspapers among the usual national and local publications is a new initiative, and it’s the Newseum’s specific contribution to SPLC’s Year of the Student Journalist celebration. The SPLC chose 2019 to recognize the work of high school and college journalists because this year marks the 50th anniversary of the “Tinker v. Des Moines” Supreme Court decision, which ensured students’ rights to free speech in schools.
In 1965, Mary Beth Tinker, her brother John and John’s friend Chris Eckhardt were suspended for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, the students sued the school district. The case made its way to the Supreme Court, and the justices affirmed in a 7-2 decision that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”
“It’s time to highlight and show increased interest in the work student journalists are doing not only on campus but often in the community,” said Gene Policinski, president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. “Many places are news deserts without a publication that represents their interests, so student newspapers are often picking up the cudgel.”
Pendulum Managing Editor Anton Delgado ’20, a journalism and international & global studies major, saw the Newseum’s call for student newspaper front pages and immediately responded. Now, the paper is in the rotation in a prominent location in the nation’s capital.
“It means the world to our staff to see their work showcased alongside dozens of other incredible student newspapers,” Delgado said. “The moment I heard of the opportunity, I knew The Pendulum had a place in the exhibition. Each week, the students working for The Pendulum produce a professional newspaper that deserves a national audience. There is no better place to showcase the incredible work our reporters, editors, designers and photographers do than at the Newseum.”
Policinski said any student newspaper could have answered the call to have their work displayed in the museum. And while the program wraps up at the end of 2019, he hopes to continue showcasing the work of student journalists with a project centered on coverage of the 2020 election.
“The response has been great,” he said. “I’ve been to Elon for a number of programs, and we’re pleased to have Elon participating.”