MOSCOW, Idaho — Students at the University of Idaho know there's only one place they can turn to for information about essentially anything happening on campus; the student newspaper, The Argonaut.
Throughout the last year, however, the student body has turned to The Argonaut for information on something neither students nor reporters thought would occur: the murders of four fellow students.
The Argonaut college journalists collectively logged more than 100 articles about the tragic murders of Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. Those stories were seen by students, the Moscow community and, in some cases, the nation. One year later, these young writers are reflecting on their experience balancing being a peer and a journalist.
Abigail Spencer, a senior at the University of Idaho, is the copy editor of The Argonaut. During her time as part of the staff, learning how to report accelerated last November.
“Not at all like anything I ever covered before," Spencer said. “We’re hearing reports that it’s more than one student. It’s four. And that they’re dead.”
Spencer immediately dove into journalist mode, focusing only on the facts of the case. Every hour on the hour, she called the police station and asked for an update.
"It helped me stop from spiraling because there was something concrete and tangible I could hold onto," Spencer said.
In the midst of reporting, however, she couldn't ignore the underlying worry for her safety as a student.
“Honestly, there was a lot of fear," Spencer explained. "I remember my little sister said to me, 'Do you think the killer is going to come after you next because you’re a reporter reporting on this story?' And I was terrified."
To keep herself at ease, Spencer always has a fellow Argonaut reporter at her side, including former Editor-in-Chief Haadiya Tariq, who now reports for the Idaho Press in Boise.
As her staff continued reporting on the murders, Tariq said the most she could do was check in on people and talk with them. However, she recalls the difficulty in balancing being a journalist and a student.
“Maybe initially, that wasn't difficult," she said. "But later on, I think it started to take a toll where I had to realize like, 'Wow, I haven't processed this, have I?'"
Tariq began processing those emotions on the night of the first vigil honoring the students, which she chose not to attend. She said she didn't feel she could attend as a student and needed a moment to take a break.
Spencer, however, went to the vigil.
"I was very careful about like, I’m not a student right now, I’m a journalist," she said. "“I started crying and couldn’t stop until like the lights came back up at the end of the vigil. Oh right, I have emotions. Those exist and I need to deal with them.”
Updates on the case were coming in daily, though information was limited. News updates typically came easily for The Argonaut staff, but as the case gained national attention, major news outlets started asking their own questions.
But Moscow Police Chief James Fry changed the layout of the initial press conferences, allowing staff members from The Argonaut to ask police questions before anyone else.
“I really did appreciate it," Tariq said. "It felt like we were being recognized and felt like they were acknowledging the impact and importance of, not only our work then, but our work as a whole publication.”
This lit a fire under The Argonaut staff to prove their local voice is one the community can trust, which is exactly what they did.
"You can come back to the Argonaut. You can trust that our journalists are doing their best to cover this as accurately as they can," Tariq said. "The work you do really matters. And I'd like to think we proved that last year.”
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