Evan Rhodes
1) University President’s make more than the President of the United States. A problem? (86)
This story is important to our audience, because it exposes the truth about a topic that isn’t often in the limelight of the media or common conversation. It’s a fact that is truly intriguing and controversial. Both are paid by tax dollars. Undoubtedly, University Presidents have a challenging job, but is it really worth more than what the President of the United States has to deal with? Some Universities are eliminating teachers ability to be tenured, eliminating faculty, increasing classes sizes class, dropping departments but are increasing University president salaries. The President of the United States makes $400,000 per year. The Chronicle, in 2012, released Public-College Presidents salaries from 2011. It sites the president of Ohio University, Roderick McDavis, as making $429,000. Not to mention the $1,992,221 that, Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State, makes yearly.
Visual elements: video of student opinions around campus, show data of numbers from Chronicle http://chronicle.com/article/Public-Pay-Landing/131912/, take survey to get more student opinions and show graph of numbers,
2) Nicotine: the ultimate “legal buzz”. Accepted stress relief, or personal stigma? To break the law or not?
This story would center around the topic of tobacco, but instead of focusing on the negatives that are usually highlighted (addiction, unhealthy, smells), it would discuss the fact that students use it to not break the law. This parallels to students who are in programs like ROTC, and also for those students who may be recovering from a drug addiction. This story would also tie in the opinions of students about people who chew and smoke, negative or positive.
Visual elements: Video of student opinions of those who use, video of students who use and why, graphs of tobacco use (whether college increases usage)
3) The roommate from hell. Taking care of the drunkard: A roommate’s responsibility?
This story would take a look into the subject of an out of control roommate, pertaining to alcohol/drug consumption and whether it’s the responsibility of the roommate. Is it fair to put the stress on the roommate? Most college students have experience this personally, and if not they’ve heard of a situation from their friends. This piece would take a look into the positives one may learn from a situation like this (the drunk), could help learn ways to drink responsibly, while very quickly addressing the negatives(OD, legal trouble) through graphs. While also addressing how the roommate is left to control and handle the situation. Could look into the reasons for why roommates may not want to tell RA’s/ police. Is there a breaking point?
*Important that this piece isn’t a lecture, but informative of the viewpoint and position of the roommate.
Visual Elements: videos of student opinions from questions above, video of stories from roommates and the experience (funny stories, or serious), graphs or statistics of OD/police trouble rates among college students related to alcohol,
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Pitches Kelsey Miller
1. Bobcat Cash Put
Toward Court Street Treats
Not many people know about the bill that OU’s Student Senate passed last year about using bobcat cash for restaurants on Court
Street as an alternative for cash. It may be put into effect as
early as sometime this school year. Approach it
from the angle of the Student Senate, why they passed it, how it will help the
student body, what restaurants are involved, and how negotiations are
going. How will this affect the
businesses? How do the businesses
themselves feel about the idea?
Interview Student Senate, potential business owners
involved, students and their take on the idea
2. The Day in the
Life of Athen’s Canman: Keeping Our
Community and Environment Clean; Seeing the Profit of Partying
The importance of the canman goes unnoticed and
unappreciated. He keeps our community in
tip-top shape through our peers’ hooliganisms.
An insightful and grateful man enjoys what he does in interaction with
the students and their weekends.
Capitalize on what he does for Athens and how he depends on the students for what they do for him.
Interview canman himself, follow him around for a night on
the town; his normal routines and summarize it in a broadcast. Interview students and what they know about
him and how much he is appreciated.
3. Drunkerexia: Epidemic Putting Partyers at Risk…Student
Effects at Ohio University
Drunkerexia is what many people are notorious for doing to
avoid the dreaded alcohol weight gain. People starve themselves all day to “save
up the calories” for the alcohol they plan to consume later in the day. This leads to dangerous alcohol levels more
quickly and can have bad effects on the body’s overall health. Take the angle of drunkerexia at OU. Many students do it and don’t fully
understand the toll it can take on your health.
Interview students that have heard of it or have done it
themselves. Take surveys and use graphs to post statistics
Pitches-Kate Hiller
Theme: Misconceptions
(sub-category: Greek life)
1. Examining the "party reputation" that sororities/fraternities have.
Delta Zeta's house is on Mill St. and they're currently doing something about awareness and choices in terms of drinking. Do they fit the stereotype or are they breaking out (or is there even a real reason that the stereotype should exist?)
2. Examining the rushing process and the behaviors/responses that go with it.
To what extent are those rushing hazed or bullied during the process? And what do those who have accepted their bids think of the house now? Are they treated differently now that they're in (I've heard of some sorority girls being super nice during rushing but after rushing they become not-so-nice)? Etc.
3. What sorority/fraternity members think that non-affiliated students think about them versus what non-affiliated students actually think.
This goes deeper into the misconceptions theme, covering the misconceptions from the other point of view (not just what people think about Greek life participants, but what the participants think their reputation is). This could tie in with the rushing process because some of the interviews could be with new members - thoughts before and after, as well as with presidents, VPs, and other older members.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Pitches - Branden Labarowski
1. Chris Keesey/The Athens music scene - If there's any place in Athens that offers equal opportunity for both student and townie, it's our sprawling music scene.
This story idea happened upon Danielle and I by chance at open mic night at the Front Room Coffeehouse yesterday. While we there, a man named Chris Keesey performed about 30 minutes worth of music. What really set Keesey apart from the other performers at open mic night, though, was that he was their senior by around 30 years - he was an OU graduate from the 80s who had taken up guitar as a side project and just so happened to choose a student-dominated venue to spread his music. And Keesey's music was just as interesting as the man himself - many of the 6 or 7 or so country songs he sang actually referred to Appalachia and the Athens area in their lyrics, with one song even mentioning the Athens County Jailhouse by name. When we asked him about this, he said he had changed lyrics of other songs to reflect his particular area. As a scholar of pop music, I was immediately reminded of Carl Perkins's iconic 1956 performance of "Matchbox," wherein Perkins forgot most of the words and instead improvised traditional, public domain 12-bar-blues couplets - I'm amazed that this kind of improvisational movement in folk music even still exists, and that it can be applied so strongly on the Athens area in particular. Danielle and I both have Chris's number and we plan on attending his next show on November 2nd and filming, just in case.
Visuals: Keesey himself. His performance and snippets of his songs - particularly the parts that mention Athens by name - would be great footage to "pad" our newscast with.
2. Local business owners - OU gives the businesses on Court Street an invaluable source of clientele, but how do local business owners actually feel about OU students?
If we're going to dedicate a portion of our newscast to townies, then it goes without saying that we're going to have to talk to local entrepreneurs. And I'm sure they get questions like this a lot, so we should make ours interesting - and the way to do that is to tailor particular questions to particular businesses. Are Wendy's and Chipotle grateful that the university gives them a constant source of employees, or are the kind of students who seek jobs there by-and-large too apathetic? Does Big Mamma's ever get frustrated at the prospect of having to patronize drunken children late into the wee hours of the night, or is it a source of 'Athens pride' for them? (Remember, this is the company's Facebook profile pic. Just throwing it out.) Is Import House thankful for the constant stream of hazy-eyed young liberals the university provides for them as a source of cash, or is there a stigma that comes with the realization that college kids aren't 'real' hippies? We live in a quintessential college town with quintessential college businesses - but that doesn't mean they have to like us.
Visuals: Pictures of the businesses and sweeps of Court Street, preferably at night - especially if we focus on the 'drunken students disrespecting local business' aspect of this one.
3. Athens kids - We've talked a lot about the students and older townies, but what about he townies on the opposite side of the spectrum - the kids?
Someone - I can't remember who, sorry - threw out the idea of asking Athens High School students if they plan on attending OU during our townies subsection meeting and I really liked it. I think we can go further with that idea: in addition to high school kids, let's see how kids who go to Athens Middle School and the numerous elementary schools in Athens feel about sharing their town with college students. I want to talk to a kid who's been a raised a Bobcat all his life and couldn't fathom going to college anywhere else and another who resents living in a hick town dedicated to a party school and would do anything he could to get out of here. After all, judging by all the munchkins I've seen participating in Humans vs. Zombies, kids seem to be more closely tied to the University than you might think, and I'm sure their spectrum of opinions is just as vibrant as any other townie's.
Visuals: Visuals of the kids and the schools they go to, and/or something that represents the proximity of schools in the Athens City School District to OU (maybe sped-up dashboard cam footage of a drive to each school).
This story idea happened upon Danielle and I by chance at open mic night at the Front Room Coffeehouse yesterday. While we there, a man named Chris Keesey performed about 30 minutes worth of music. What really set Keesey apart from the other performers at open mic night, though, was that he was their senior by around 30 years - he was an OU graduate from the 80s who had taken up guitar as a side project and just so happened to choose a student-dominated venue to spread his music. And Keesey's music was just as interesting as the man himself - many of the 6 or 7 or so country songs he sang actually referred to Appalachia and the Athens area in their lyrics, with one song even mentioning the Athens County Jailhouse by name. When we asked him about this, he said he had changed lyrics of other songs to reflect his particular area. As a scholar of pop music, I was immediately reminded of Carl Perkins's iconic 1956 performance of "Matchbox," wherein Perkins forgot most of the words and instead improvised traditional, public domain 12-bar-blues couplets - I'm amazed that this kind of improvisational movement in folk music even still exists, and that it can be applied so strongly on the Athens area in particular. Danielle and I both have Chris's number and we plan on attending his next show on November 2nd and filming, just in case.
Visuals: Keesey himself. His performance and snippets of his songs - particularly the parts that mention Athens by name - would be great footage to "pad" our newscast with.
2. Local business owners - OU gives the businesses on Court Street an invaluable source of clientele, but how do local business owners actually feel about OU students?
If we're going to dedicate a portion of our newscast to townies, then it goes without saying that we're going to have to talk to local entrepreneurs. And I'm sure they get questions like this a lot, so we should make ours interesting - and the way to do that is to tailor particular questions to particular businesses. Are Wendy's and Chipotle grateful that the university gives them a constant source of employees, or are the kind of students who seek jobs there by-and-large too apathetic? Does Big Mamma's ever get frustrated at the prospect of having to patronize drunken children late into the wee hours of the night, or is it a source of 'Athens pride' for them? (Remember, this is the company's Facebook profile pic. Just throwing it out.) Is Import House thankful for the constant stream of hazy-eyed young liberals the university provides for them as a source of cash, or is there a stigma that comes with the realization that college kids aren't 'real' hippies? We live in a quintessential college town with quintessential college businesses - but that doesn't mean they have to like us.
Visuals: Pictures of the businesses and sweeps of Court Street, preferably at night - especially if we focus on the 'drunken students disrespecting local business' aspect of this one.
3. Athens kids - We've talked a lot about the students and older townies, but what about he townies on the opposite side of the spectrum - the kids?
Someone - I can't remember who, sorry - threw out the idea of asking Athens High School students if they plan on attending OU during our townies subsection meeting and I really liked it. I think we can go further with that idea: in addition to high school kids, let's see how kids who go to Athens Middle School and the numerous elementary schools in Athens feel about sharing their town with college students. I want to talk to a kid who's been a raised a Bobcat all his life and couldn't fathom going to college anywhere else and another who resents living in a hick town dedicated to a party school and would do anything he could to get out of here. After all, judging by all the munchkins I've seen participating in Humans vs. Zombies, kids seem to be more closely tied to the University than you might think, and I'm sure their spectrum of opinions is just as vibrant as any other townie's.
Visuals: Visuals of the kids and the schools they go to, and/or something that represents the proximity of schools in the Athens City School District to OU (maybe sped-up dashboard cam footage of a drive to each school).
Thursday, October 18, 2012
PITCHES :: KYLE WIGGERS: How far are you?
My pitches are socio-geographic facets of an idea my group has discussed for our newscast: the relationship between Ohio University students and Athens residents.
1. "Townie" relations, part 1: How Athenian city folk - e.i., those people a few minutes' walk away from campus - feel about students, and vice versa.
These individuals are, spatially spatially speaking, closest to the university, and, thus, most likely to interact (or have to deal with) students. They, for whatever reason, have chosen to live and work around young adults; they've resigned to perpetual madness, half a year of school-day rush and midnight mayhem. I think they're insane. I can't know for sure, though, because I've never read about them in papers, or seen them on television, or heard them on radio. They're sub-textual, backdrop, on the fringes of our peripheral vision. But they're people, people with feelings. They have a voice, and I'd like to hear it.
Possible visuals: Interviews inside of apartments, shots of campus.
2. "Townie" relations, part 2: How neighborhood dwellers are affected by university goings-on.
Those a short drive from the university, those living several miles from College Green and Court Street, typically have university connections. Be they professors or faculty or graduates, they've valuable perspective to give: they were once the youthful peripatetics they see now, every day, while driving into town. These people were, long ago or recently, students themselves. How interesting to see, then, what they think of current classes and current class actions.
Possible visuals: Homes, walks along neighborhood roads, a drive into town.
3. "Townie" relations, part 3: How more rural, 'down-the-road' citizens of Athens interact with or "see," in a broad, character sense, students.
The farms and fields a little farther from town are where some Athenians reside. An appreciable distance from O.U., they live simpler, more Tellurian lives. Or maybe not. Little is known among students about the nearly-out-of-town-but-not-quite -ers, besides the heavily publicized "poverty and drug" staples of Appalachia But perhaps we could rectify that by informing ourselves and others of what those austral unseen are truly like.
As a side note, I'm sure Ohio University has an outreach program of some sort that I'm not aware of. I'd like to know what efforts like those have done for the community.
Possible visuals: Homes, shots of property, shots of people.
1. "Townie" relations, part 1: How Athenian city folk - e.i., those people a few minutes' walk away from campus - feel about students, and vice versa.
These individuals are, spatially spatially speaking, closest to the university, and, thus, most likely to interact (or have to deal with) students. They, for whatever reason, have chosen to live and work around young adults; they've resigned to perpetual madness, half a year of school-day rush and midnight mayhem. I think they're insane. I can't know for sure, though, because I've never read about them in papers, or seen them on television, or heard them on radio. They're sub-textual, backdrop, on the fringes of our peripheral vision. But they're people, people with feelings. They have a voice, and I'd like to hear it.
Possible visuals: Interviews inside of apartments, shots of campus.
2. "Townie" relations, part 2: How neighborhood dwellers are affected by university goings-on.
Those a short drive from the university, those living several miles from College Green and Court Street, typically have university connections. Be they professors or faculty or graduates, they've valuable perspective to give: they were once the youthful peripatetics they see now, every day, while driving into town. These people were, long ago or recently, students themselves. How interesting to see, then, what they think of current classes and current class actions.
Possible visuals: Homes, walks along neighborhood roads, a drive into town.
3. "Townie" relations, part 3: How more rural, 'down-the-road' citizens of Athens interact with or "see," in a broad, character sense, students.
The farms and fields a little farther from town are where some Athenians reside. An appreciable distance from O.U., they live simpler, more Tellurian lives. Or maybe not. Little is known among students about the nearly-out-of-town-but-not-quite -ers, besides the heavily publicized "poverty and drug" staples of Appalachia But perhaps we could rectify that by informing ourselves and others of what those austral unseen are truly like.
As a side note, I'm sure Ohio University has an outreach program of some sort that I'm not aware of. I'd like to know what efforts like those have done for the community.
Possible visuals: Homes, shots of property, shots of people.
TEAM GREEN MEMBERS! :)
Katy Andersen
Jon Emmerling
Erin Davoran
Allison O'Brien
Evan Rhodes
Kelsey Miller
Kirsten Kueser
Meg Omecene
Olivia Hitchcock
Shantel Wolfe
Tim Carrico
Jon Emmerling
Erin Davoran
Allison O'Brien
Evan Rhodes
Kelsey Miller
Kirsten Kueser
Meg Omecene
Olivia Hitchcock
Shantel Wolfe
Tim Carrico
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Remarkable site
Just saw this - wanted to share it... http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/#!home:page=1
Quite an interesting resource.
Quite an interesting resource.
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