If Journalism Matters, So Should Journalism Students
We write as two of the very few journalism majors at Yeshiva University and as the only two on The Commentator editorial board. As we enter our final semester at Stern College, we have been reflecting on what the journalism major at YU has offered us, and what it has not.
Both of us chose YU intending to major in journalism. We were both originally accepted to secular universities with well-established journalism programs. However, we ultimately decided to come to YU because we wanted to learn from teachers and write for a student newspaper that did not center itself around anti-Israel rhetoric or tolerate antisemitism. When we learned that YU — a school aligned with our values — offered a journalism major, we believed we could grow as writers without constantly clashing with our editorial environment.
We found that goal realized within The Commentator. Here, we have learned to work with fellow students passionate about truth-telling and reporting and have vastly improved our writing skills. Most importantly, we found a community of peers who make time for this because they understand the value and the power of the pen. We are here simply because we care, and it has been a gratifying and growth-filled experience to meet others who feel the same.
Outside The Commentator, however, the academic journalism program itself is small and limited in scope. It exists only on the Beren Campus and functions as a concentration within Media Studies, which sits under the English major. Despite a wide range of courses listed in official materials, only one journalism class has been consistently available during our time at YU. That course, held on Monday nights, is taught by the brilliant Jason Gewirtz, who singlehandedly carries and guides the entire program. Without him, the journalism program likely would not exist. His dedication, knowledge and mentorship have been central to our development as journalists.
At the same time, the program’s narrowness imposes real constraints on students. Because the major hinges on a single course offered at a fixed time, students whose schedules cannot accommodate it are sometimes encouraged to drop the concentration and pursue a general Media Studies degree instead, or change their major entirely. One of our peers, frustrated by the lack of variety and unenthusiastic about the several required literature courses, has already done so.
This can be frustrating for journalism majors, especially when the university has shown that it does value student writing in other contexts. The Rohr Scholars program is one clear example.
Announced in fall 2024 under the Sacks-Herenstein Center, the Rohr Writing Scholars Fellowship was created to help students become “more informed and better equipped to analyze major worldwide trends in Jewish life,” “tackle larger social justice issues” and “gain tools to be more reflective and expressive in their written work as they evolve into lifelong writers.”
The cohort meets once a month to discuss journalistic genres, revise and edit each other’s writing and occasionally meet with a guest speaker. According to one of the program’s members, renowned political speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz, who served as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and later for Michelle Obama, will soon visit. They are also encouraged to publish their work in both YU student newspapers and outside outlets.
These are precisely the kinds of opportunities journalism majors seek. Yet none of the current five Rohr Scholars is a journalism major. Three are pre-med, one studies computer science and one studies psychology. While these students may well become accomplished writers, it is difficult to understand why a program focused on reporting and writing has not tried to include students formally training in journalism. At a minimum, journalism majors might reasonably expect access to some of the program’s resources or an invitation to participate in some of their events. We were never even invited to apply.
A brief moment of optimism followed the announcement that award-winning journalist and conservative political commentator Douglas Murray would join YU as its inaugural “Professor of Practice.” We wondered whether this appointment might be the start of an expansion of journalism-adjacent offerings. It did not. Murray is not teaching on the Beren Campus, nor is he teaching a journalism course. Instead, he will deliver three guest lectures in a poetry course on the men’s campus.
We reached out to President Berman to request a meeting with Murray and to express our disappointment that this appointment did not include journalism students at Stern. We received no response.
“Words are sacred,” the British playwright Tom Stoppard once said. “They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”
This belief lies at the core of why we chose to major in journalism and dedicate so much of our time in college to writing, reporting and editing. We do this because we love it, but more importantly, we do this because we believe there is no greater vehicle for creating change, enforcing accountability and encouraging a society built on values of truth, honesty and diversity of opinion. Journalism is a function of democracy — the key pillar on which it stands — and, when practiced ethically, it is also an expression of our obligation as Jews to pursue truth and fight against a media landscape that all too often demonizes Jews and the Jewish state.
At an institution founded on these values, students who aspire to carry this responsibility forward deserve meaningful investment and opportunity. Our time at Yeshiva University is drawing to a close. Through our work at The Commentator and our weekly Monday night gatherings, we feel we have been well prepared for lives in writing. We are deeply grateful to the teachers, mentors and peers who helped shape us into the writers we are today.
Our only wish and request is that future journalism majors do not feel that they are working against a system that would prefer they choose another course of study. As Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks wrote in “The Dignity of Difference”: “The birth of writing was the genesis of civilization … Writing was the breakthrough by which the present could hand on the lessons of the past to the generations of the future.” YU is nurturing the next generation of student leaders, professionals and, yes, even writers. Ensure that students feel cared for and are encouraged to continue on this most vital and valuable journey.
