Student journalism is under attack at IU. In October, the university announced that the Indiana Daily Student - IU Bloomington's student newspaper - will no longer have a print edition starting in Spring 2025. For years earlier, the publication had dealt with budget cuts - once a five-day-a-week paper, their printing was reduced to two days a week before they were forced to become a weekly publication. 

In light of this news, The Preface at IU South Bend faces an uncertain future, concerned that the slashing of IDS printing will set a precedent for other IU campuses to eliminate student newspaper printing. The Preface has also been forced to adapt to tighter and tighter budgets, especially after IU South Bend raised its campus minimum wage to $10.15/hour; The Preface was not given an increased budget to reflect this change, so rather than lay off staff, we decided to reduce our already infrequent publication from once a week to three times a month. 

Now, The Preface's print edition, which has been part of our campus since 1969, could be eliminated entirely. This year, we've seen the highest rates of readership for our print edition since before Covid (if measured by how frequently our stands are empty). We continue to work on developing our online presence, which we believe should be a significant part of our work; however, strengthening our website and multimedia should not have to mean that we abandon the print. We believe that the more platforms students are given to advocate for our interests, report news that empowers us, and speak out even when it's inconvenient for the university, the more our campus will be a bastion of free speech and expression. 

Print newspapers are a cherished aspect of campus culture, immortalizing student life at our moment in time and providing records for students to keep and look back on long after they graduate. 

This February, The Preface will present our budget report and request to the Student Government Association and finance administrators overseeing the Student Activity Fee Budget Committee. We need your help to let them know that student print is an integral part of our campus that is here to stay. Sign the petition by January 31 to help save student print!

Questions about The Preface or why you should support this cause? Email Editor-in-Chief Mira Costello at micostel@iu.edu.