Campus Watchdogs

"Seek truth and report it." That's our main goal and obligation as journalists. Wherever there is corruption, mismanagement or misconception, it's our job to uncover the facts.

Colleges and universities are no exception.

Robert Faturechi, Enterprise Editor for UCLA's campus publication The Daily Bruin, exposed illegal actions within the university's prestigious orthodontics program in the article, "Donations Influence Admissions".


Faturechi revealed in the article that special admission consideration had been given to top program financial donors and their relatives, actions that violated policies of the university.

I had the opportunity to meet with Faturechi when I attended an event in D.C. this summer. He said that this story required weeks of research and extensive source contact, but that he always felt it was the duty of the Bruin to report this. It was inspiring to hear that even as a student, he already felt that he was obligated to tell this story.

The Central Florida Future has also published some great investigative journalism pieces.

One example is former Future News Editor Matt Morrison's story, "13 financial problems identified in '08 audit - News".

I thought Morrison did a great job of finding strong sources and explaining the findings simply. I'm sure the use of freedom of information was key in the success in this story also.

Just like the UCLA students needed know what was going on in the orthodontics admissions program, UCF students needed to know where their tuition money was going and how university officials mismanaged hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It's encouraging to read the work of my peers. No matter how the industry has and will continue to change, fundamentally, the truth still matters. Examples of this type of watchdog work from students is just proof that young people understand that journalism is a necessary and essential part of our society. The future of journalism is in good hands.