Orange County's colleges have some of the better coed reporters in the country, between the literary-journalism department at UC Irvine run by Pulitzer Prize winner Barry Siegel, Chapman University's bachelor's program and the student-run The Hornet of Fullerton College, which dominates community-college newspaper awards like USC used to win Heismans. But it was Cal State Fullerton's Tusk that won the much-coveted Best Overall Student Publication award this year from the Western Publishing Association, which represents all journalistic efforts west of the Mississippi. The writers are overseen by former Orange County Register reporter Jeff Brody, who helps to make the yearly mag read better than some of its local, professional peers, with first-person essays, long-form journalism and even investigative stories. (Professor Holly Ocasio Rizzo oversees the production staff, who produce gorgeous layouts.) And its name—referencing Fullerton's elephant mascot, smooth yet menacing—embodies the magazine's mission as well as any moniker since Mad.
