EEK! My story of mice and men

As a student living in my own apartment, I deal with rodents--mice in particular. When my roommate and I first moved in we were at a total loss on how to deal with the critters. This is the point that I come to with my first multi-media project. I want to present a how-to feature on removing mice from a residence. I think to be fair I should include both humane and traditional ways to remove mice.

Sources:

1. I found a few local pest removal experts from the phone book and I am currently contacting them to see if I can interview and shadow them.
2. Sandra Clausen- My roommate. She is the one who handles the "disposal" of the mice.
3. Timothy Dadourian- A junior TU student who deals with mice problems in his home.
4. I want to go to the Off Campus Housing Fair tomorrow (2/25) at TU. While there, I want to get the contact information for apartments in the area. I will also ask representatives there about mouse issues and how their complex/ residents handle rodents.
5. I am looking for other students who live on their own who have mice. If you know of anyone, please leave a comment and I will be glad to get in touch with them.
6. Myself- Since I live with mice, I am a good source. I usually try not to include myself in the story but if putting myself in will advance the story that much more, why not?

Photo Possibilities:

1. If I shadow the pest control specialist, I could get shots of them setting a trap or removing one.
2. I know it will be a hard one to capture but I would like to get a live shot of a mouse.
3. I could get the reactions of students after they have seen a mouse.

Student takes a stance

While on the hunt for an article about Towson's initiatives to "go green," I came across an article printed in the Moday, November 17th issue of The Towerlight which has helped me to narrow my focus down a bit. In Nick DiMarco's article "Students, community protest coal financers" he writes about a protest by the Baltimore Rising Tide. Througout the article he quotes a Towson student, Amanda Duzak, a senior environmental science and studies major. I am interested in writing a profile piece on Duzak because she obviously cares about the environment and the impacts the human race have on the universe.

Advance Information

I do not have much information on Duzak herself, although I have visited the Baltimore Rising Tide website. There I found the Baltimore chapter is just a small part of the global network to conservation and plans of action to make the planet more sustainable. Specifically about the protest, I know a little about the issue behind the protest on November 14th. A few years ago, I wrote a paper for my environmental science class about the appalacian region. In the paper, I wrote about the working conditions in the coal mines. The protest was part of a chain of protests for Bank of America's investment into coal mining.

Potential Sources

• Amanda Duzak- She is a Towson Senior and environmental sciences and studies major. She also participated in the protest.
• Baltimore Rising Tide- The group is working exclusively in the Baltimore area to make the planet greener. They led the protest.
• Heather Kangas- She is a Towson Junior studying political science. She participated in the protest and may know Duzak.

Potential Questions

• What inspires you to become active in saving the planet?
• How important is global conservation to Towson and the surrounding area?
• Do you feel Towson University is doing enough to "go green"?
• What are a few simple things each person can do to help the environment?
• What are your career aspirations?

Photo Possibilities

I would like to take a simple profile shot of Duzak to begin. I would also like to photograph her doing something related to her field. Obviously, I missed the protest, so I probably won't be able get that sort of shot but I would be open to following her to a protest in order to get the action shot. I could also capture her doing something around campus, for example, while she recycles something on the ground.

Audio Possibilities

There are a lot of audio possibilities with Duzak. She has a great deal of enthusiasm for helping the environment so getting her to discuss the importance of this would probably have a lot of emotion for her. I could also get audio of why she got involved with environmental science and conservation efforts. It might also be interesting to have her talk about what her vision of a greener Towson University looks like to her.