The Student Press Law Center and the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project are proud to honor Michigan State University student journalists Alex Walters, Theo Scheer and Owen McCarthy with the 2025 Student Freedom of Information Award. Four other reporting teams were recognized as finalists.

Walters, Scheer and McCarthy have made public records and transparency a central focus of The State News. Over two years, they filed hundreds of FOIA requests, tackling issues ranging from campus surveillance practices, sexual assault by campus physician Larry Nassar and faculty, hate crimes and internal communications between administrators and board members.

“Usually we request records, look at those records, then request other records based on what we see in them,” Walters told us. “We have developed a nice system – a public records practice.”

When the university improperly redacted records about employees facing repeated misconduct allegations, the students pursued administrative appeals and sued the university  — and won. In supporting the students’ nomination, their attorneys Elizabeth K. Abdnour and Megan N. Mitchel cited the students’ “integrity, grit, and perseverance” and a “deep understanding of the FOIA process.”

The students’ relentless pursuit of transparency and accountability extended beyond reporting and litigation. In efforts to empower others to uncover information and hold their institution accountable, they collaborated with web developers to build a digital tool that assists readers in requesting public records from the university.

“This is student journalism at its finest: dogged reporting, a commitment to learning and an unwavering belief that transparency and accountability matter,” said Gary Green, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. “These reporters proved that student journalists break important stories, go to court and win, and serve their entire community in the process.”

The honor was announced Oct. 18 at MediaFest 2025 in Washington, D.C.

The students and The State News will split a $2,000 prize, sponsored by the Brechner FOI Project at the University of Florida. The students in September won the Society of Professional Journalists’ Pulliam First Amendment Award, which comes with a $10,000 prize. This was the first time college journalists have won the award, which typically is awarded to the nation’s biggest professional investigative reporting teams, such as the Boston Globe, Associated Press and Miami Herald.

“These record champions show that amazing document-based reporting at college newspapers can have a huge impact on a community,” said David Cuillier, director of the Brechner FOI Project. “This award was extremely competitive this year, and it sets the standard for all journalism, even for pros. They are even giving some of their prize money to the campus newspaper to cover future copy fees. A classy trio in every way.”

All three are senior journalism majors and planning to graduate in May – seeking jobs in investigative reporting. Like a lot of stellar college journalists, Walters got his start in high school, at Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan.

“Nobody could talk to me – why would you talk to a 17-year-old kid,” Walter said. “The only way I could get information was through public record requests.”

He said he credits the SPLC letter generator as a huge help in his learning, and their special tool specific to Michigan State University has encouraged others to get records. “I saw someone who went to MSU in the ‘80s looking for directories of people who lived in his dorm – maybe trying to get in touch with old friends.”

Finalists

Four other reporting teams are also recognized as finalists for the 2025 Student Freedom of Information Award for their outstanding public records reporting.

Elizabeth Wilson at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

After waiting 18 months for records requested on Cal Poly’s sexual assault handling, alleged labor violations and a controversial faculty appointment, Elizabeth Wilson sued her university. It was a first, as far as she is aware, for any student journalist at The Mustang News.

With support from the First Amendment Coalition, Wilson won several concessions from the university in a settlement. The result was not only the release of public records but also mandated training for university records staff. Wilson taught other students how to file public records requests, and the settlement required ongoing meetings between records staff and student journalists — both of which contribute to lasting gains in transparency for student journalists at Cal Poly.

Tristin Hoffman at the University of Oregon

Tristin Hoffman, former editor-in-chief at The Daily Emerald at the University of Oregon, analyzed nearly 700 pages of financial documents to scrutinize the journalism school dean’s use of university funds during a budget crisis. Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda resigned a month after the investigation was published and the university announced an internal audit.

The investigation revealed violations of travel and spending policies and raised questions about how funds were used, culminating in a digestible and accessible investigative report. Hoffman’s tenacious reporting has led to accountability and strengthened the institution’s culture of oversight.

Murat Demir, Matthew Schmitz, Hannah Dillon, Raye M. White at the University of Alaska Anchorage

Through public records requests, student reporters at The Northern Light revealed that arsenic, mercury and lead-contaminated taxidermy at a university library had sickened workers and been quietly removed.

Murat Demir, Matthew Schmitz, Hannah Dillon and Raye M. White combed through emails, executive reports, chemical test results, handling protocols and warning labels received from multiple agencies to understand and corroborate what happened with the contaminated object.  Their reporting sparked overdue conversations about transparency and safety within risk management and library operations.

Price Wilborn, Cameron Shaw, Jake McMahon, Anthony Clauson at Western Kentucky University

Student reporters at the College Heights Herald were seeing troubling signs across campus without clear explanations — a sudden dormitory closure, budget pressures and falling enrollment. When university officials resisted transparency, Price Wilborn, Cameron Shaw, Jake McMahon and Anthony Clauson pursued answers.

Through persistent records requests, they obtained a forensic engineering report exposing construction and design failures in the closed dormitory. Their reporting also revealed that Western Kentucky University had exceeded its budget by nearly $4 million for the second straight year, with the athletics department driving much of the shortfall — a story no other outlet reported.

About the Award

The Student Freedom of Information Award recognizes a student journalist or team of journalists for outstanding and tenacious use of public records in reporting that promotes transparency and brings important issues to light in their school or community. SPLC presents the honor in partnership with the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, which provides a $2,000 prize to the winner.

This year’s winner was selected from a competitive group of nominations by an advisory committee of experts on public records and reporting, including Matt Drange, investigative reporter and journalism instructor at Laney College; Arelis Hernandez, Washington Post national reporter; and Nate Jones, Washington Post FOIA director.

Posted: October 29, 2025
Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Awards, Brechner FOI Project, David Cuillier, FOI Award, public records, Student Journalists