A hurricane-ravaged university library, now set for repairs. State and federal financial-aid  fraud protections, after rampant scams. Reworked legislation, in response to concerns from school districts.  

These are some changes recently brought about by the reporting of our Local Network in Puerto Rico, California, and Texas. A little more about them: 

• Víctor Rodríguez Velázquez’s reporting on the University of Puerto Rico’s library highlighted how it was moldy and leaking, years after the island was ravaged by Hurricane María. The upcoming repair project “represents a concrete and verifiable step toward fulfilling the institution’s commitment to preserving the valuable materials housed in our collections and improving environmental conditions for both users and staff,” Nancy Abreu Báez, the library’s director told him.  

• Adam Echelman has reported for more than a year on the financial-aid fraud playing out at California’s community colleges — scammers stole more than $10 million in federal financial aid and more than $3 million in state aid in the last year. This reporting is directly responsible for the state enacting reforms, which the federal government followed soon after. 

• And Texas lawmakers rewrote legislation giving districts more time to replace uncertified teachers, after Sneha Dey reported on the concerns of district leaders who said the bill would leave them with few options to fill their ranks amid a teacher shortage. 

We keep track of when our reporting leads to policy change, as well as how it influences people to take action, informs them, or connects them to each other.

That can look like Claire Rafford’s reporting in Indianapolis, which helped Black residents reconnect to former neighbors, after the expansion of Indiana University destroyed their homes. Or Lisa Kurian Philip’s work in Chicago, where listeners helped pay down the student loan debt of a young woman Lisa featured in a radio story.

I encouraged newsrooms to think about how their reporting — and how their journalists — increase social cohesion in their communities during a panel at INN Days earlier this month. (Nieman Lab wrote more about that panel here.) 

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If this type of reporting matters to you, donate to Open Campus today.

Elsewhere on Open Campus

From Los Angeles: We partnered with LAist on a story exploring the challenging road to becoming a teacher in California. The state requires 600 hours of time working in a classroom, more than many other places in the country. Many students take on debt to go through teacher-prep programs, and then juggle sometimes multiple jobs on top of teaching.

Shayna Meikle loved her middle school science students, but felt beat down by the demands of her program — and tempted by the fulfillment of teaching roller skating instead. She left her teacher-prep program halfway through and now owns two roller rinks and a skate shop.

Before making the change, she polled her nearly 300 students:  “Should I, your favorite teacher, leave you to do roller skating full time?” 

All but one student said yes. 

The rest told Meikle: “Go, Miss. Follow your dreams.”

From Pittsburgh: College athletes told Maddy Franklin at our partner PublicSource about how their lives have changed since being able to make money off their name, image, and likeness. 

“NIL made us all influencers,” said Cat Flood, a volleyball player who graduated earlier this year from the University of Pittsburgh. 

From Texas: Jessica Priest at our partner The Texas Tribune spoke to four undocumented students whose education plans have been hampered by a recent ruling that blocks them from accessing in-state tuition rates. 

A.M., a recent Texas A&M University graduate, is hoping to complete a master’s degree in one of the 23 states that still offer in-state tuition. He is sad and scared about potentially moving away from his family and friends to do so. 

“It’s kind of like having to start from scratch, and all the connections I made here, I might not be able to see for a while,” he said.

Keep in touch

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