JED
Being a journalism minor at Notre Dame does not solely consist of sitting through lectures and passing exams. Whether it’s interrupting students eating lunch to ask them about campus race relations or taking the bus to the county building to dig through court records, the Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy (JED) program strikes the perfect middle ground between fun and healthy discomfort. Here are some of the projects I’ve done.
THE OBSERVER
During my sophomore year at Notre Dame, I began writing for the University's student-run newspaper The Observer. My stories have allowed me to interview individuals ranging anywhere from a Notre Dame student rapper to a Rwandan genocide survivor. Below are some of my writing clips.
CIVIL FORFEITURE INVESTIGATION
In early March 2019, I began working with South Bend Tribune reporter Christian Sheckler on a two-month investigation into the usage of civil forfeiture in St. Joseph County. Simply put, civil forfeiture is the practice of police officers taking the personal property of everyday citizens if the officers believe the property is connected to a crime. However, as one can imagine, this system is easily abused by law enforcement. After scouring through hundreds of pages of legal documents, cold calling a bunch of victims and lawyers, and spending hours going through interviews, I was able to write this story and produce this podcast showcasing my work.
WITH VOICES TRUE INTERVIEW
With Voices True is a project by Hesburgh Libraries at Notre Dame aiming to create an archive of personal narratives on race, specifically within the campus community. In April 2019, I was fortunate enough to conduct one of these interviews with Notre Dame Class of 2020 student Kaleem Minor. Kaleem is from Snellville, Ga., and formerly served as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Notre Dame's Student Government. The interview discusses such topics as the experience of being a minority student at Notre Dame, shortfalls in the support systems offered to these students, and ways in which Kaleem believes these disparities can be addressed.