Students linked arms to keep journalists — namely Tim Tai — from other students protesting the school’s administration and its lack of response to ongoing discrimination on campus, according to Slate. To make matters worse, professors — supposedly from the university’s communications school — blocked and threatened student reporters from covering their own campus.

After assaulting a reporter’s camera, a red-headed woman identified by media outlets as a communications professor, walks toward a group of protesters and asks for “some muscle over here” to remove Mark Schierbecker, who identified himself as a reporter and uploaded the video to YouTube.

There is no explanation and no excuse for professors – whether they teach communications or physics – to assault and physically threaten students. No one deserves that treatment – especially journalists trying to tell protesters’ stories. Whoever assaulted and threatened the student journalist should be ashamed and held accountable for their actions.

The student journalists in the video, on the other hand, should be commended for the responsible behavior throughout a clearly evolving and intense situation.

The bottom line is that the same First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects the freedom of assembly also guarantees the freedom of the press.

Andrew M. Seaman is the chair of the Society’s ethics committee.

Tags: Columbia, ConcernedStudent1950, First Amendment, Missouri, Mizzou, Press Freedom, Press Rights

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