Seton Hill University shutters student newspaper indefinitely

Seth Stevens was disturbed after learning the student newspaper at Seton Hill University, The Setonian, would be put on an indefinite hiatus.

“It was very sad,” said Stevens, 21, of Greensburg. “I was very much looking forward to writing.”

This spring was to be his first official semester as a reporter for The Setonian, as the student newspaper had originally been been put on a temporary hiatus for the fall semester.

The English department faculty broke the news to current editor-in-chief Summer Griffin in an email acquired by TribLive. Griffin then passed the news on to staff members, according to Stevens.

“After much deliberation and in consultation with the Provost’s Office, we have decided to put The Setonian on an indefinite hiatus,” the email read. “This decision was not made lightly, as we greatly value the publication’s legacy and its continuing potential in fostering student creativity, critical thinking and journalistic skills.”

The email attributed the decision to a variety of reasons, including:

• No capacity among English faculty to put in the work necessary to advise the publication.

• The shift to digital formats.

• A broader lack of support for journalism in culture.

• A lack of students in the journalism major.

• A lack of institutional clarity on the publication’s editorial process and the role of the faculty adviser and university in content moderation.

As of fall 2023, Seton Hill had an undergraduate enrollment of 1,597 students, according to U.S. News & World Report. Stevens said about 10 to 12 people attended the paper’s staff meetings in December.

Though the original correspondence said the hiatus would be indefinite, Seton Hill told TribLive on Monday it hopes to bring the paper back by fall.

“Seton Hill’s English department faculty are taking the time this academic year to assess the current state of the publication and explore ideas on how to move it forward, especially in this age of digital media and in light of declining student interest,” Jennifer Reeger, director of media relations at Seton Hill, said in a statement to TribLive. “Faculty are exploring a number of ideas, and the goal is to have a plan in place by the end of this semester to bring The Setonian back, in some form, by the fall of 2025.”

At the end of the 2023-24 academic year, the longtime adviser for The Setonian, Dennis Jerz, an associate professor of English at Seton Hill, voluntarily stepped away after serving in the position for 21 years, he said.

“Student interest in journalism is not what it used to be, and though we have some great students, it was a lot of work for a small staff to put out a quality product,” he told TribLive in a statement.

However, students are able to take as many journalism courses as they did previously, as they did not earn any credits for participating in The Setonian, according to Jerz.

“A successor has not been announced,” he said. “As I see it, this change is an opportunity for a storied publication to evolve.”

An act of censorship?

The paper’s status update was sudden for Stevens, who is a senior studying English literature at Seton Hill. He said he believes the shuttering was a deliberate act of censorship by the university.

“I was very frustrated and mad at the university for surrendering to these topics that I thought they held in such high regard,” he said, referencing Seton Hill’s commitment to students to uphold free speech and liberal perspectives.

Stevens alleged that The Setonian has always been “heavily screened” by the university — as the provost has final say over what is published.

“The Setonian and all student newspapers are essential for free speech and the freedoms enjoyed by every American,” Stevens said. “The public deserves the right to know what happens at private universities like Seton Hill.”

The Setonian was not put on hiatus as an act of censorship, Reeger said.

“This hiatus is a direct result of the need to evaluate how best to move forward with the publication given that it does not currently have a faculty adviser and the decline in student interest and involvement in recent years,” she said. “We certainly value the importance of the media in our society in general and at the university in particular.”

Students had not brought up censorship-related issues in discussions with faculty as of Monday, Reeger said.

“Conversations with students, faculty and administration have been ongoing to determine the best steps forward,” she said.

Stevens said the students were preparing to seek approval to transition the paper into a solely digital format — rather than printing once per semester — when they received the news.

“Not a lot of people were reading the print format,” he said, echoing the reasons listed in the English faculty’s email. “That’s why we were moving to the digital format.”

Necessity of student journalism

What hurts the most for Stevens is that the opportunity to hone his craft in journalism has now been taken away from him — practical application he won’t get to experience before spring graduation.

The only opportunity he had to write journalistically while at Seton Hill was during a freshman year news, arts and sports writing class.

“I will never get feedback on my journalistic writing style because The Setonian has been removed,” Stevens said.

Despite not knowing exactly what career he wants to pursue, he said it’s possible he will end up in journalism in some capacity.

“I truly believe that this is a pressing matter for every student on campus, and for the public as well, for people to know about this censorship in journalism,” he said.

Without Seton Hill recognizing a student newspaper, accountability will go toward the wayside, Stevens said.

“We had a voice. Now we can’t even claim that,” he said. “We have lost our ability and credibility to speak.”