Ole Miss Students Explore Press Freedom Lessons in Nation's Capital

That changed in early March when Jones, a political science major and Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College student, stood inside the National Archives reading the First Amendment. The fading ink, unfamiliar cursive loops and vigilant security guards took nothing away from this monumental moment, she said.

"This is the structure of America," Jones said. "Here I was, standing right in front of it."

She was among 13 Ole Miss students accepted into the honors course that traveled to Capitol Hill.

Led by journalism professor Debora Wenger, the group explored press freedom, its history, its champions and its challenges, scheduled in conjunction with America's 250th anniversary. The trip breathed life into the principles and history lessons they've spent the semester studying on the Oxford campus.

"The freedom of the press has been under attack many times in our history," Wenger said. "But we always manage to come out on the side of freedom of expression.

"I wanted students to examine how far we've come and how far we still have to go."

The Honors College funded the experience, removing financial barriers for the students.

Wenger designed the course after a call for classes tied to the nation's semiquincentennial milestone. The question driving her curriculum revolved around how far the nation has strayed from the original intentions of press freedom in the First Amendment.

At the Lincoln Memorial, the group reckoned with one of the course's revelations: Abraham Lincoln, consistently ranked among the nation's greatest presidents, was no friend to the press during the Civil War. History reveals the 16th president shut down newspapers, jailed a congressman for criticism and restricted mail deemed harmful to the war effort, Wenger said.

"I wanted them to think about how they can create an environment where not everybody agrees with them and still accomplish extraordinary things," she said. "In a time of so much partisanship, I hope that's a lesson they carry forward."

The group also visited the Jefferson Memorial, attended breakfast with Sen. Roger Wicker and conducted on-the-record interviews with journalists and media leaders across the city. Rep. Trent Kelly arranged a Capitol tour guided by Ole Miss alumnus Wriley McKeown, a member of Wicker's legislative team.

Students arrived prepared, having researched each subject in advance. They sat down with Daniel Payne, a reporter with STAT and an Ole Miss alumnus; Steff Thomas, associate editor at The Hill; Humberto Duran, a producer with China Global Television Network; and Tara Puckey, CEO of the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Duran's perspective quietly reframed the room, Wenger recalled. He grew up in Peru, so he offered a view of American press freedom the students had not encountered.

"For him, we have more freedom for our press than he ever experienced in his native country," Wenger said. "Understanding that there's not just one perspective and that it's much more nuanced than maybe we realized, that was powerful."

Four students, including Jones, won a public lottery for seats in the Supreme Court gallery and witnessed live oral arguments. For Jones, a student with law school squarely in her sights, the gallery was more than a field trip stop.

"My earliest memory is, quite literally, me as a young girl marching around in my cheerleading uniform in our kitchen, telling my parents 'I will be a lawyer. I will be a judge,'" Jones said.

"My mom has videos of me saying this from a super young age. My parents just always told me to shoot for the best, be the best and never stop chasing a dream."

The mounting sense of possibilities was heightened by the group's trip to George Washington University, where she hopes to apply for law school. There, students interviewed Jesse Holland, an Ole Miss alumnus and one of few journalists to have covered all three branches of the federal government.

Already earning enough credits to hold junior standing before finishing her sophomore year, Jones is answering her parents' charge of grit and focus. But seeing democracy in motion ignited renewed commitment to helping others realize the importance of press protections and freedom.

"If freedom of the press gets taken away, everyone's freedom gets taken away," she said.

Top: UM alumnus Wriley McKeown (right), a member of Rep. Trent Kelly's legislative team, takes a group of Ole Miss students on a tour of the U.S. Capitol. The group was in Washington, D.C., for an honors course that offered an immersive study of press freedom timed to America's 250th anniversary. Submitted photo