Liberty University Quelled Free Speech? President may have Killed Article for Story on Left-Wing Protest

Liberty University’s president may have killed a story by college journalists over covering a quote of his in an article about left-wing evangelicals protesting at the university. The university president, Jerry Falwell, Jr., is an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, and was quoted in an upcoming story on a left-wing evangelical protest at the Lynchburg, Virginia-based university.

But, when the text of the article was sent over to him for him and his office to look over, he said that the article should not be run in the student newspaper. In an e-mail response, he told the student journalist, “No let’s not run any articles about the event. That’s all these folks are here for — publicity. Best to ignore them.”

It is concerning when university presidents make editorial suggestions to the college newspaper, conservative or liberal (although many universities are liberal and have failed to protect or empower their student journalists).

Related Topics