There were kegs, open bars, and punch bowls steaming with mixes of dry ice, fruit punch, and grain alcohol. The Wellesley News could have done a series on who bought the alcohol or why MIT didn't regulate its frats. We could have reported on the date rapes, accidents, illnesses, and fights that no doubt stemmed from those parties. But the paper ran none of those stories. Looking back on it, I can understand why.
Most reporters are part of the communities they cover.
The mayor they write about is their mayor. The schools they scrutinize are schools their kids head to on Monday mornings. But I doubt even the smallest town can match the closeness of a college campus. As college journalists, your subjects are your friends, your teachers, your mentors, your neighbors. If most reporters write a story their readers don't like, they might get an angry phone call or an irate letter to the editor.