The Mercury is UT Dallas’ official newspaper, operating under the vigilance of the Student Media in the Office of Student Affairs. Run by UTD students, the newspaper staff are currently on strike following the removal of Gregorio Olivares as their Editor-in-Chief by the Student Media Operating Board (SMOB), the same board that appointed him to the position. Olivares then filed an appeal, but SMOB was forbidden from convening to hear his plea by the Office of Student Affairs.
Olivares’ dismissal was prompted by current Student Media Adviser Lydia Lum, who called the board meeting that fired him and accused him of violating student media bylaws. In their Sept. 16 editorial, The Mercury outlined their demand to have Olivares reinstated as Editor-in-Chief and protested every single one of her accusations against him. Furthermore, they cited critical coverage of the university in the wake of a May 1, pro-Palestinian student encampment and subsequent arrests as the reason for the witch-hunt against Olivares.
The Mercury is refusing to continue publication until their demands are met and their Editor-in-Chief is reinstated, standing up to UTD’ abuse of power over the freedom of the press. They are only publishing news articles in relation to the strike and Olivares’ continuous efforts to appeal the decision.
The Paisano stands with the students of The Mercury and supports their decision to go on strike following the unfair decision to fire their Editor-in-Chief. In order for a publication to do their job efficiently and honestly, they cannot be under the control of institutions who do not value their students’ freedom of speech. It is the Paisano’s privilege to operate independently from university supervision and carry out the mission to serve and inform the UTSA community unencumbered by petty agendas.
The Mercury have disabled their original email accounts and rebranded their Instagram account from @utdmercury to @retrograde_news to continue their important work as student journalists as the new, improved and independent The Retrograde with Olivares as their Editor-in-Chief.
The Paisano welcomes The Retrograde into the world of independent student publications and urges the UTSA community to show their support by following their Instagram account, which is currently their only mode of communication as all printing and online operations by The Mercury are on hiatus.
The students at The Retrograde face a difficult situation, yet demonstrate the true character of a journalist by standing up for what they believe is right and refusing to be silenced. UTD’s SMOB have committed a terrible offense against the constitutional right of freedom of the press and lost a 44-year-old, award-winning publication over it.
Student journalists everywhere must condemn and call out their decision. To show their support, people can sign The Mercury’s strike petition and donate to The Retrograde’s GoFundMe and/or Patreon so that they may fund their publications.
