It has been an eventful couple of semesters for the NEIU Independent. As we have reported, transparency has been a concern of many community members and stakeholders at NEIU. We did not know how deep the rabbit hole was when we began reporting on the Faculty Senate and the administration at the beginning of the fall semester of 2022.

Now, after the Faculty Assembly votes of no-confidence in President Gibson and the previous Board of Trustees, harrowing union negotiations, town hall protests, and enough caffeine to power a small city, we are proud to have brought these happenings to the NEIU community, and pad our resumes with published content.

We are also humbled by the recognition we have received for our work. This year, many members of the Independent and other publications in the Media Board, received awards for their work. We have also received support and recognition from many members of the NEIU community and the Faculty Senate, in particular, for our work.

On March 28, 2023, the Faculty Senate resolved to urge the Board of Trustees to “provide immediate speech and reporter’s privilege, protections to campus media and student journalists” in response to a Freedom of Information Act request on my communications with a source. This support is a humbling honor from our professors and a gesture that we, as an organization, will not soon forget.

We also thank the Board of Trustees for their recognition and their readership. On April 21, 2023, board chair Jose Rico made an announcement “in response to a story published today in the Independent, Northeastern Illinois University’s student newspaper,” in which he reaffirmed the board’s commitment to “ensure a fair and credible process to identify an Internal Interim President.” We greatly appreciate Rico’s affirmation of our reporting as relevant to those responsible for the governance and smooth operation of NEIU.

The Independent welcomes anyone who would like to write for us and report on events at NEIU or express their views. Please feel free to write to our Editor-in-Chief at [email protected] if you have any comments, or letters to the editor, or are interested in working with us.