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On August 26, 2025, UT Dallas got the full “” treatment after administrators newspaper racks from campus — the latest escalation in the university’s campaign against an independent student press. The Retrograde, UT Dallas’s independent student newspaper, was born after the school dismantled the official student news outlet, The Mercury, following its coverage of pro-Palestinian protests last year. On Tuesday, Retrograde staffers and a campus theater troupe donned newsboy caps and handed out papers across campus, kicking things off with a town crier (and UT Dallas alumnus) delivering the day’s headlines outside the administration building at 7:30 in the morning.

The following statement can be attributed to FIREStrategic Campaigns Counsel Amanda Nordstrom.

Student journalists at UT Dallas are taking a stand after the university tried to silence them yet again. Banning newspaper racks is just the latest tactic in a disturbing pattern: censor the coverage, kill the paper, and now, block its distribution. But these students fought back with creativity, resilience, and the truth. FIREstands with them.

Public universities are bound by the First Amendment. Freedom of the press isn’t a courtesy — it’s a constitutional right. UT Dallas can try to shut down a newspaper, but they can’t stop the news.

Now, after public pressure, UT Dallas  it has reversed course on its full-fledged ban on campus newsstands. But don’t be fooled. Allowing access to just four distribution points after banning all 43 that existed prior is not a real reversal. It’s viewpoint discrimination wrapped in red tape. That’s not just wrong, it’s unconstitutional. And FIREisn’t backing down. FIREwill stand with The Retrograde every step of the way, until their right to a free and independent press is no longer up for debate.

Stand with us and tell UT Dallas Vice President for Student Affairs Gene Fitch to end the school’s censorship crusade and fully restore student press freedom on campus.