Journalism, regardless of it being student journalism or professional journalism, is a vital element in any institution.

We, as journalists, have the responsibility to protect the truth and distribute the truth to the people who deserve to know it.

We take pride in our enormous responsibility and strive daily to ensure that our responsibility is met with exceptional performance.

Whether people like us or not, we don’t care. That’s not our mission, and we will never attempt to please everyone for the sake of a few likes.

Our duty is to hold this administration and the university community at large accountable for their actions, and we will continue to do so for years to come, just as student journalists at many universities and colleges do on a daily basis.

However, currently across the nation, university and college newspapers are being unfunded, eliminated or censored.

This issue spurred employees at the Independent Florida Alligator, the University of Florida’s student-run newspaper, to start the social media campaign #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Student newspapers from various outlets will be sharing testimonials, editorials and show people life inside their newsrooms in an attempt to show the importance of student journalism on Wednesday.

We at The Daily Eastern News would like to take a moment to stand in solidarity with the student journalists and newspapers who are taking part in this movement.

People have this illusion that student journalism isn’t a necessary factor at a university, or that anything they write has to make their university look good.

That’s false.

Student journalism and the work we do is all part of a unified goal to promote the spread of truth.

Without truth we would live life blinded and brainwashed by whoever is in charge.

Just look at history and you’ll understand the importance of journalism.

Watergate was exposed due to the work of journalists, the reality of war was exposed because of journalists, but most importantly, action was taken as a result of the honest reporting of journalists.

Student journalism is no different. College and university newspapers around the U.S. hold their administrations, student governments and faculty and staff leaders accountable every day. They expose corruption while taking the time to report on more ‘positive’ aspects of university life as well.

This is why we applaud every one of our colleagues in student media outlets, who are doing their duty and great journalism despite all the challenges.