Nickel and Diming

As a continuation of my reporter’s beat, “Brave New World,” I recently interviewed two current Towson University students and one alumnus. Their perspectives helped me to get a better understanding of what it is like for students to learn to budget more effectively when it comes to the grocery bill. I was interested in finding out what students are doing now to lower their out of pocket spending when they went grocery shopping. Of the three individuals I spoke with, each told me a different technique to save money and get the biggest bang for their buck at the register. Click here to listen to the full audio story about how you can save some of your nickels and dimes.

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.

Put out the 'Welcome' mat: Your furry friends are here.

“There’s Oliver!” said Towson University junior Timothy Dadourian as he watched a tiny, furry field mouse scurry across his apartment living room.

Since he moved out on his own to finish his under graduate degree last year, Dadourian, like thousands of college students across the nation, has made many new friends. Some of them even happen to have whiskers, claws and a reputation for scaring little girls.

“The problem is that the buildings are old and the mice are in the walls,” says Towson senior Sandra Clausen. A commuter student from Baltimore City, Clausen also deals with mice in her apartment. She found that she sees more mice during the winter when it’s cold outside.

“I put out glue traps with peanut butter to catch the mice. It works a lot of the time,” said Dadourian about how he remedies his mouse troubles. Other solutions include ultra sonic wave producers. The tiny device plugs into any regular wall outlet and emits a sound that when the mouse comes near, it creates an uncomfortable loud buzz in their ears. If you think you might have mice in your apartment, there are some very simple solutions that a stop to the local home improvement store will fix.

While many apartment buildings in the Towson area are a shelter for all sorts of creatures, humans are less likely to embrace mice into their homes.

Mmmm...the smell of exhaust is hearty in the winter air.

It is good to be back to Towson after a long winter's "break". I say so because a co-worker of mine went on maternity leave just as finals ended and I have been trapped behind a desk that is taller than my short stature and found myself frequently needing to find someone to "cover" me long enough to go to the restroom. I think I am in better spirits than I thought I would be. I am anxious to get back into the swing of things. (Although my clever weekly e-mails to the entire office reminding people to toss their trash before leaving work on Friday afternoons has managed to keep me on my toes.) I learned a lot last semester about my own ability to work in this brave new world of media convergence. I am excited to learn more and have taken it upon myself to learn new ways to maneuver on the internet. I am experimenting more and more with my website and I appreciate any comments and/or suggestions anyone might have!

I think my idol in media, at least in broadcast, is Robin Roberts on ABC's Good Morning America. She is able to dig deep to complete a lot of hard hitting journalism, while she is still able to connect to people. I found her the person on the news I could most relate to as I prepared myself in the early morning hours before work. Roberts, I was stunned to find out, had cancer a few years ago. Through her chemotherapy sessions, she wore a wig to mask her shaved head. Even though I watched her during her struggle, I could not imagine the personal fear and anguish she felt as she literally lived through cancer on television. Her story is remarkable. One of my favorite recent stories of hers is when she met with artist India Arie for a recording session after a job profiling piece suggests she would be best suited in the music industry. On the fly she made the tune and lyrics to a beautiful song I can still hear in my head today. I will try to find a mp3 of the song and post it to my blog (and probably my website too).

As I sat in my car this morning and made myself ready for cold air and exhaust fumes in the garage, I wonder what possibilities lie ahead this semester. I wonder about the people I will meet and the stories I will tell. The possibilities truly are only limited to my own desire. With this in mind, I say "what's up?" to my old friends and a warm "hello" to my new classmates. Each of these people will bring with them a new and fresh perspective on life and journalism.

~Amber :)

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.