The endless fuel
By Astrid Viveros*
On January 2006, La Catarina, the college newspaper I worked for, was forced to stop publishing accurate, true stories that were labeled as overly critical. I naively thought Mexican media would have an instant uproar for such atrocity. We received support from a couple of local newspapers but were criticized by many others. We were portrayed in stories and articles as young troublemakers looking for attention, students trying to spoil the good name of one of Mexico’s finest universities.
However, we brushed the criticisms away and reminded ourselves we were fighting for a right cause: freedom of speech. After a couple of weeks of reaching out to national and international media, the administration caved in and we were able to publish our newspaper again. After this incident, I can proudly say that La Catarina saw some of the best work in it’s history.
I graduated that semester thinking the worst was over. Unfortunately, the last issue I worked on was also the last real newspaper issue La Catarina would see. In autumn 2006, the newspaper where I had found my passion for journalism was taken over by students who were happy to work on the stolen project the university handed to them. The censorship of La Catarina was old news, there wasn’t as much reactions as there had been in January, the university had its way.
To this day, the newspaper remains printing it’s weekly issue but with very different editorial guidelines. This incident showed me that justice doesn’t always prevail. Not a week goes by where I wonder if I could have done more to prevent the censorship and eventual dissolution of La Catarina. I have spent many hours going through everything that happened and looking for the solution that was needed a year and a half ago. In the end, I have to remind myself that it was neither my friends’ fault nor mine that we lost the newspaper.
As history has proven, not often tyrants with political and economic power fail to get their way. I realize now this is why we remember and glorify people who are the exception to this rule. I don’t wish to end this opinion so negatively. After all, I gained some of the most valuable lessons in my life due to this experience.
I see my fellow Catarina staff members as people that I would trust my life with; peers who I know would never turn their back on me or on any righteous cause. I learned that a small victory can give a soul endless fuel to keep fighting for what it believes in.
I realized this experience has left me with the responsibility to improve the conditions of free speech in my country and the world. But above all, I personally experienced that when you are fighting for a just cause, even when you do not succeed or get what you or society deserved, you can be at peace with your soul and character knowing that you gave all of your heart to help the world become a better place.
*Astrid worked as a reporter and columnist for student newspaper La Catarina. She graduated from University of the Americas, Mexico, and Texas Christian University. She now works as a TV producer for a broadcast network in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
