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Yusra Farzan
What I cover
I report on issues affecting students (prospective and current), their families and communities. Some big questions I am pondering on this beat: who are higher education institutions set up to serve? Who determines who has access to these institutions? How is changing technology affecting higher education? Is access to higher education a ticket to a different trajectory in life?
My background
I didn’t think about university up until I graduated high school. Neither of my grandparents nor parents had completed college. We were residents in the UAE and that residency was dependent on my dad holding down his job. A college degree was a nice to have, not a need to have in my family. And it was only thanks to a combination of luck (Sri Lanka’s civil war ended), grit (I balanced 3 freelance jobs and a paid internship) and sheer determination (I dodged countless marriage proposals) that I graduated with a degree.
And it’s these forces that led me to complete my master’s in race and social justice reporting from USC almost a decade later. (Add a 2-year-old to the mix and grieving the sudden death of my mother.)
I previously covered Orange County for LAist.
My goals
I want to find what works and expose what doesn't, and help students and their families find solutions to their problems.
Best way to reach me
Covering Southern California’s universities and community colleges can be a lot, so I need your help in being my eyes and ears on the ground. If you have a tip, you can email me at yfarzan@laist.com or on Signal at username: @yusramf.25
Stories by Yusra Farzan
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Two of the laws will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, and a third a year later. They increase transparency in how government contracts are awarded.
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Service will be shut off indefinitely for 35 homes due to safety concerns in the face of rapidly-accelerating land movement.
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The measure would amend Santa Ana's city charter to allow noncitizen residents to vote in municipal elections.
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Incumbent Mayor Valerie Amezcua is running for reelection. She is being challenged by councilmember Benjamin Vazquez.
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The proposed ethics and transparency reforms are in response to LAist’s investigation of millions of unaccounted for tax dollars directed by O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do to a group his daughter was helping lead.
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The move comes more than nine months after LAist first started reporting on issues with public funding he directed to a nonprofit where his daughter served in leadership roles.
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Newport Beach, San Clemente and Aliso Viejo are just the latest cities to harden their stance on homeless encampments.
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The move Tuesday came as some 250 homes are now without power due to safety concerns.
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A sharply worsening landslide affects 140 homes. The accelerating crisis has city officials and Portuguese Bend residents criticizing a lack of preparation and worrying about the difficulty of evacuating the neighborhood's elderly residents.
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SCE told LAist that homeowners living in the area affected by continual land movements are being notified that the electricity turnoff is scheduled for Sunday.
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A group wants to move the location of the cemetery from Anaheim to Irvine.
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Federal authorities have frozen the bank accounts for Viet America Society, the nonprofit at the center of a high-profile controversy over what happened to millions of taxpayer dollars, according to reporting from the Orange County Register.
