Campus scandal hard to find at PVCC

I watched a student sweep first place awards in numerous journalism categories at a conference in San Diego earlier this year.

By Carmela Kelly, December 2011 Editor-in-Chief

That student swept me for first place in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence for In-Depth Reporting category.

Two professors at the conference told me not to worry about it. Those stories write themselves. The school is riddled with scandals, they said.

Next semester I step down from editor-in-chief to pursue an internship, and I think I have a certain ennui with Paradise Valley Community College as an award-seeking investigative journalist.

I follow the Student Press Law Center on Twitter. The SPLC serves as a center for legal knowledge and free help for students facing legal impediments to gathering and publishing news, as part of a larger vision to promote civil awareness through journalism, says Frank D. LeMonte, an attorney and SPLC’s executive director. Nearly every day I see SPLC posting cases of schools attempting to thwart First Amendment rights and worse. In a case last year, the dean of a school decided to have his public relations director edit (censor) the student newspaper. He did it while the school’s journalism adviser was away.

The importance of campus reporting is growing.

“We see a real need for stronger coverage of campus issues,” says Mark Horvit, executive director, Investigative Reporters and Editors. “In many cities, professional media have cut back staff and are paying less attention to colleges and universities, leaving a gap that can be filled by student journalists. There are many crucial issues that deserve coverage and scrutiny, including the cost of education, spending priorities, quality of education, etc.”

While the Puma Press has exposed issues in the past, like delayed financial aid checks and the need for more Veteran services, it’s a pretty boring place. I read the San Diego award- sweeper’s work. It was juicy, full of administrative scandal and merited first place .

Dr. Paul Dale and others haven’t made it easy for me to peacock strut at an IRE awards ceremony (although I did okay at the SPJ conference with second prize) . No. Dale has a policy of transparency with the press. Not once have I asked him for a quote or a thought on a matter that he didn’t give me information. Okay, there was that one time he stiffed me.

The first time I met Dale was on a story about the Department of Justice suing the Maricopa County Community School District for alleged immigrant discrimination. If memory serves, it was as we were still shaking hands and taking seats in a conference room when Dale said, “That’s all happening at the District level.”

I persisted and showed him a copy of the employment form at the center of the Feds lawsuit. Never seen it before, he said. The form contained questions about immigration status for tax purposes.

It isn’t just Dale who has been problematic for investigative reporters with a drive for professional outside recognition by IRE and others. I nosed around earlier this year on a story involving a green- card holder who claimed wrongful discharge and discrimination by the school in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.  I discovered he had a criminal record and incidences of illegal behavior Puma Press readers on campus hadn’t heard about: waving a rifle on campus. Few people had heard about it. I salivated at the news story and cover-up by administrative officials and public safety to make PVCC appear to be such a safe place.

Unfortunately, Scott Meek, director of public safety cooperated with the press and sent me to where I could get public records. I remain unsure why none of us heard about the incident but based on what I found in the incident report the employee deserved to get axed.

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