Biostatistics Ph.D. student Jennifer Scodes worked on a study led by Geanne Belton, journalism professor and director of the high school journalism program at Baruch College. The study, titled “Haves and Have Nots: Newspaper Prevalence Among New York City Public High Schools” looked at whether New York City Public High Schools have student newspapers. According to the research report, Scodes’ statistical analysis found that  “among schools with poverty level[s] greater than or equal to 78%, the effect of having a newspaper on graduation rates is statistically significant such that those having newspapers have significantly higher graduation rates than those without newspapers . . .”  However, among schools with a poverty rate “less than 78%, the effect is not statistically significant."