Journalism Students Report on Homelessness for National Project

Katy Seiter

Arkansas school districts report significant percentages of their students are homeless under federal definitions.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A class of journalism students examined homelessness in Northwest Arkansas as part of a national reporting project coordinated by the University of Maryland's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.

The Advanced Reporting and Data Analysis course in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media focused on the number of homeless school children, issues with homeless women, veterans and felons, among other topics.

They used the R programming language to examine data from the Arkansas Department of Education, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington County Detention Center and Zillow to explore the homeless puzzle from many perspectives.

Their work is published on Razorback Reporter, which showcases student journalism.

"You will read about the alarming number of homeless children attending Arkansas schools. You'll hear a podcast about the complexities of eradicating veteran homelessness and the special challenges facing felons. You'll go inside a homeless encampment within the shadow of the university and hear the stories of women and their challenges on the street. Explore Michael Adkison's interactive story on homeless counts," said Rob Wells, assistant professor of journalism, who taught the course.

The students also discussed their experience on KUAF's Ozarks at Large broadcast on May 7 and 8:

• KUAF: Student Journalism Explores Challenges, Homelessness
• KUAF: Students Document Homelessness in Northwest Arkansas

The student reporters include undergraduates Katy Seiter, Michael Adkison, Abbi Ross, Brooke Tomlin and Elena Ramirez and graduate students Matthew Moore, Whitney King and Mary Morgan Ellis.

"My students have been remarkable this semester, showing grit and creativity," Wells said. "They were out early interviewing homeless people and service providers. So when the society shut down due to COVID-19, they had a lot of material already gathered."

This class work is feeding into a national reporting project led by the Howard Center at College Park, Maryland, which is scheduled for publication in June. Participating universities include the University of Oregon, University of Florida, Arizona State University, Stanford University and Boston University.