Olivia Hitchcock's Pitches

Fighting the Freshmen Fifteen: OU Students’ Workout Routines

Many students come to college and are terrified of gaining the infamous “freshmen fifteen.”  A common way for students to fight that weight gain is by working out.  By looking at statistics from Ping (i.e. the number of swiped in students per hour), we can get a sense of how many students take advantage of Ping’s incredible facilities.  Graphs could be used to show the peak hours for those at Ping, and surveys and/or interviews could be used to talk to students about why and how often they use Ping.  Also, interviews could be conducted to see what other ways students use to stay in shape.  This could show students another culture at OU, a culture of staying fit. 

Defying Stereotypes: How OU Students Are Giving Back to the Community

OU has a strong reputation for being a party school, and many in the Athens community view the university in an unflattering light as a result.  This story would look into the community service that is done by OU students.  Members and leaders of organizations such as Alpha Phi Omega, Service Living, and OU Community Service Council can be interviewed to see why and what they do for the greater community of Athens. Graphs could show the proportion of students who are involved with some sort of community service project. This story would serve to show that more is going on at Ohio University than just the partying it is known for.   

College Students and the Elections

With the presidential election this November, we have heard a lot (arguably too much) about the candidates, their slip-ups, and even a bit about their platforms.  This story looks at voting and the election from the eyes of the students.  The Post recently had an article about how younger voter turnout is expected to be lower than usual; will that be true?  Also, students typically become more liberal while in college; why is that?  Another angle could be looking at students’ knowledge of the local candidates.  This story is important to our college-aged audience because it looks specifically at their voting trends from their point of view.  By talking to those involved with political groups on campus (i.e. College Democrats and College Republicans) as well as the general student body, quotes, graphs, and statistics can aid the story.