Identity of Speakers
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Gregorio Olivares
Student
OtherUndergraduate student and Editor of The Mercury and the Retrograde
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Right wing -
Incident Responses:
University investigation issuing in sanctions
Student sanctioned
Rally or Protests
Other
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
On September 13, 2024, the University of Texas at Dallas Student Media Operating Board removed Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez as editor in chief of The Mercury, the university’s student newspaper covering campus news, student government, events, and issues affecting the university community, following allegations that he violated student media bylaws, including holding a second university job, causing budget overruns, and limiting the adviser’s role. The removal followed months of tension tied to the paper’s coverage of a May 1, 2024 pro Palestine encampment, including reporting on the university’s decision to call in state troopers and arrest 21 people, interviews with arrested participants and faculty, and editorials criticizing university actions. On September 18, 2024, staff announced a strike demanding reinstatement, asserting the removal was retaliation for coverage, and by September 26, 2024 an appeal of the termination was denied. On September 30, 2024, staff described the paper as on hiatus and stated “without us, there is no student media.”
In late 2024, former Mercury staff members established an independent student newspaper, The Retrograde, operating without university funding or oversight. The transition followed claims of pressure within student media, including expectations of prior review of content, critique meetings involving administrators and student journalists, and administrative changes affecting newsroom operations, compensation, and adviser involvement. Around the same period, the university removed campus newsstands that had been used to distribute student newspapers, limiting print circulation and requiring hand distribution, and revised student media governance structures, including bylaws and oversight practices within the Office of Student Media.
On August 25, 2025, the University of Texas at Dallas informed The Retrograde that it could distribute newspapers in four designated campus locations under a systemwide rule, while The Mercury was permitted distribution at 36 newsstand locations.
In fall 2025, revised student media bylaws were adopted affecting student media governance and operations, and on November 7, 2025 additional bylaw changes were passed further shaping those policies. On December 11, 2025, during a meeting with the Office of Student Media, administrators instructed student journalists that they could not “openly critique” another student media outlet, even when such critiques were requested by a student reporter.
