Hampton Journalists Successful, Yet Critical of Their Alma Mater
Daarel Burnette, a 2006 Hampton University graduate, began working as an education reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal within days of graduation — an impressive step for someone fresh out of college. In 2003, Burnette wrote an in-depth story in The Hampton Script about health violations in the university’s cafeteria, setting off a widely publicized censorship dispute between the paper and university officials.
Talia Buford, a 2005 Hampton grad, is a reporter at the Providence (R.I.) Journal. Buford was editor of the Script when Burnette’s story appeared. She stood up to the administrators, who confiscated thousands of copies of the issue (see Black Issues In Higher Education, Dec. 4, 2003).
Bravetta Hassell, who will be a Hampton senior this fall, is a summer intern at The Washington Post. She served as editor of the Script for one semester last year but says she quit after being told not to run a story — ironically, about the cafeteria.
Marvin T. Anderson, a summer intern at the Detroit Free Press and the incoming editor of the Script, says he expects problems.
Anderson’s top goal is to get the Script back online after administrators ordered the Web site shut down in 2004. “It’s very difficult. I feel like I’m getting a runaround from the administration. I met with somebody, and they told me to send them a template so they could approve it.”
