Student Tells Jim Acosta She Was Dumped Over Tough Questions on Trump Policies: ‘Demanded I Apologize’

A student journalist told podcast host and independent journalist Jim Acosta that she was dumped from her school’s TV station after she refused to apologize for asking tough questions about President Donald Trump’s policies.

Acosta hosted a live Town Hall event on Thursday night’s edition of The Jim Acosta Show at the University of Virginia, during which he introduced a now-former WUVA reporter named Sophia Bangura.

Just days earlier, WUVA held a Q&A with UVA Interim President Paul Mahoney on Trump’s “University Compact” and other issues that Sophia said got her dismissed by WUVA President Conwell Morris:

SOPHIA BANGURA: Hi, I’m Sophia. I’m a politics major fourth year at UVA here and a former intern for the Center for Politics.

Up until 24 hours ago, I was a student reporter for WUVA, which is an independent student news outlet here on grounds for the past several decades.

Last week, we got the opportunity to speak with interim President Mahoney on the changes going on at UVA.

I was tasked to be a producer on that project and create the questions. I had worked with the students and we all agreed prior to that interview that this was going to be a tough interview to talk about everything from President Ryan’s sudden resignation to the compact to deportation on grounds.

And then last minute, the primary interviewer, a student, decided to not share those questions and more go the softball question route.

And in that moment I spoke up to ask him specific questions like what don’t you like about the compact? What do you say to students who are afraid that ICE might come onto grounds regardless of their legal status? What do say to the student council no confidence vote? Who argue that they don’t know why the board selected you and if you were on that public nominations list.

And of course, he gave me very media trained answers. He refused to answer some questions or placed it on another department.

But later that afternoon, I got a call from the president who was also a student who demanded that I apologize for those questions.

He made it clear that one story, quote, “one story does not make or break WUVA, but these relationships with the school are extremely important.”.

I made clear that I was not going to apologize. I spoke with members of WUVAs board.

JIM ACOSTA: Good.

SOPHIA BANGURA: I spoke with WUVA’s board, who are filled with UVA alumni, who are journalists, who favored my position, who told me not to apologize, but also made clear that an important principle here at UVA is student self-governance. So they can’t really intervene in student leadership for the club.

And then last night I was told that I was being insubordinate, not apologizing and that they would be terminating my affiliation with the group.

And that was quite demoralizing because this was, you know, my peers and I think it reflected that even independent student journalists are feeling the pressure, the culture of not saying certain things to institution for fear of being reprimanded. So yeah, definitely still hurts.

JIM ACOSTA: Well, thank you for sharing that. And I just want to say that you should be commended for standing up for the First Amendment and for doing your job.

And shame on UVA for doing that to you! Shame on this interim president for doing to you that. If somebody tells me you’re going to keep charging after this experience, you should do that. You should definitely keep charging. But thank you very much, Sophia. Thanks for sharing.

Watch above via The Jim Acosta Show.