- Brainstorming
- Person – There are a lot of people with different people who pursue different activities and have different achievements with different personalities that I think would be interesting to interview. I have had lots of professors who are unique in their own ways like this from Psychology professors to Geology. I think in the realms of our project 2 idea having to do with whether or not people on campus feel safe, it would be interesting to have a professors perspective in whether or not they believe they create a safe environment for their students to learn and develop.
- Place – A place that really fascinates me that is natural but manipulated by man, are the bike paths. What fascinates me about the paths on campus is the multiple uses they have. I know some people who go cross-country skiing on them or others who just jog. I also know a lot of people who go out there to escape. However, I have also heard stories of UMaine PD driving down some of these wide paths looking for individuals that are disobeying campus protocols. I also wonder if implementing the blue lights around campus on these paths would be a valid idea.
- Activity – I regularly go to the gym several times throughout the week. I often find when I go that some particular parts of the gym are used primarily by men and I believe that some women who go to the gym are deterred from going into those sections because the energy of masculinity is really toxic and uninviting. I have begun to use those areas more frequently and since, it feels as though my routines are watched and criticized. I personally believe that the gym should be organized differently to promote a more positive environment where everyone feels they can work out comfortably.
- Behavior – A behavior I often witness amongst my peers especially within classrooms are their complete lack of regard to what is occurring in class. In big lectures people often sat behind me and watched movies or chatted the entire class distracting others. However, what I find really interesting is that these people regularly attend class and repeat the same things. It makes me wonder why even going to the class is valuable to them.
- Business – I am not too familiar with what is occurring economically although I should be. However it is tax season and along with myself many of my friends are excitedly waiting for their tax returns. For many though their tax returns were disappointing although they worked long hours regularly, many had to pay back to the state. I find this interesting just to see the differences between last years taxes, and this year.
- Event – A current event I am aware of is the last hockey game this Saturday (3/9). I am not aware of all the information and context about their season. It would be interesting to do though if my group would like to do a sports themed box plot.
- Academic – An occurring problem I find that has to do with academics is the large amount of people that end up on academic probation hear at the university. If we were to do a box plot on this subject we could ask people whether or not they believe it is a problem on our campus, whether they think it is easy to end up on academic probation. We could also ask experts what academic probation entails and how the school is trying to solve this problem.
- Media – I actually don’t have any footage that would be applicable to this project already.
B. Feasibility
- Person:
• Appropriate: I feel that it would be appropriate to interview professors on campus safety. I think it would be an interesting perspective to have because I am sure that professors would have a lot to say about the safety conditions on campus.
• Accessible – Yes, it would be quite easy to just contact one of my professors for an interview.
• Size – I think interviewing professor’s would complement the idea of my group’s project on campus safety. By interviewing a professor we could expand upon whether professors try and ensure campus safety themselves by cancelling classes in unsafe conditions when the university does not.
• Scope – I do not think this topic is too big. I think it would actually fit well and strengthen our groups project as a whole. Getting two different professors’ perspectives would add and interesting view on whether or not they believe we have a safe campus.
2. Place:
• Appropriate: I think it would be really appropriate to do a story on the trails and paths UMaine has. Surely safety could be tied into it somehow but I do not believe that the safety of the trails and paths is the direction my team is taking with our project. I think it would be really interesting though to do short video on the purposes and community that maintain and use the paths on campus.
• Accessible – It would take some research to figure out who to interview about the trails. However, I am sure Maine Bound has some knowledge of who maintains the trails and such.
• Size – I think this idea is rather quite small and would have to be developed further to make it into a longer piece. It would be interesting to take this small idea and incorporate it into something much bigger having to do with the outdoor activities that our campus offers through Maine Bound.
• Scope: By taking this idea in the direction of using Maine Bound to interview and expand upon campus activities, I think will make this topic the right size it needs to be. It would be fitting to do a project on this topic as spring nears because more people will be interested in getting outside and doing activities on campus when it is warmer.
3. Activity:
• Appropriate: I think it would be appropriate to look into whether it is just me who feels this way about parts of the gym.
• Accessible: I think it would be accessible because I could get a team together and record some of the girls at the gym and maybe some of the boys to about their perspective.
• Size: This wouldn’t be too big of a project. I could gather some b-roll of people working out and get interviews all while at the gym.
• Scope: This video would apply mainly to UMaine as an audience. However, I am sure if an outside audience viewed this video they would understand as this is a common theme amongst gyms I believe.
4. Behavior:
• Appropriate: I’m not sure if this is appropriate because this is something I am sure not many people think is really interesting and a huge problem on campus.
• Accessible: I think it would be easy again to find people to interview like professors, TAs or students but then again I don’t think many people will find it a pressing issue.
• Size: I think the topic would be manageable but it wouldn’t gain much attention.
• Scope: This video would only be applicable to a UMaine audience.
5. Business:
• Appropriate: I think this would be appropriate since we are in the midst of tax season and many people can put their input in on the topic.
• Accessible: I think this could be accessible because we could not only interview staff and students, we could also interview a financial business specialist that is aware of why this occurs.
• Size: I think that this topic is somewhat manageable but I feel I would need more experts to put their input in on the topic.
• Scope: This video would be for all audiences that are interested in the topic not just students or staff.
6. Event:
• Appropriate: I don’t think this would be a very appropriate topic since the event has passed but possibly a video could be done on a recap of their season and their goals for next season.
• Accessible: To do this video it would take getting in contact with the hockey team and coach.
• Size: This idea I believe is doable. The interviews and B-roll could be gathered within a week.
• Scope: This video would be for hockey fans on campus.
7. Academic:
• Appropriate: I don’t know if many students would want to talk on this issue because it is a personal one. I am sure that I could easily find an expert but I don’t know how many people would want to open up about the issue.
• Accessible: Again, I think it would be hard finding students interested in speaking about the issue.
• Size: I think this would be a big obstacle of a project because I would have to find students wanting to discuss the issue.
• Scope: Iff this video were done, it would apply to a UMaine audience.
C. Development: Letter
Dear Chief LaCroix,
I am writing to you in regards to potential interview that me and several other New Media students are interested in having with you. The interview would be concerning UMaine Campus Safety and your perspective one the topic. My group and I are hoping to also interview students and faculty about their perspective on campus safety too.
We would like to use your interview to create a short video on the topic of campus safety and whether or not we can conclude that safety on campus is an actual issue. I believe this is a very important topic to be covered because no student or faculty member wants to feel unsafe on campus. By doing this video, we could not only give you the platform to share your opinion one the topic, but we can also give students a platform to share their voices and create a possible change in safety policies on campus to ensure that the University of Maine does feel like home.
The team of students that will be interviewing you would be Claudio van Dujin, Jackson Heichel, Cevin Harriman, Andreas Sandoval, and me (Caitlyn Sharples). Andreas, Claudio, and I hope to create questions to interview you in while Jackson and Cevin record audio and footage that we can use for our video.
We hope to be able to record you in your office within the next week whenever you are available. Once we receive our additional student interviews, the video will take a week to edit and afterwards, I would love to send you a copy.
Thank you for your consideration and I hope we will be in touch.
Sincerely,
Caitlyn Sharples
P.S. You can reach me either through email (caitlyn.sharples@maine.edu) or cellphone(207-602-8144).
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