Amanda
1. I'd like to interview a Mexican woman, who is a friend of mine, about how she illegally crossed the Mexican/American border and what kinds of things she went through to get here. I don't even have an opinion on illegal immigration, but I feel like when you hear what women go through to get into the country, you can't help but feel some sympathy.
2. I'd like to interview an American who married an illegal Mexican here in the U.S. and describe the difficult legal process of trying to prove that they are married because they're actually in love and not just to win him citizenship. It is such a long and ridiculous process, that a lot of these couples don't want to go through the legal system. It's easier just to sneak your illegal husband across the border and deal with any repercussions. I have no idea how the system needs to change, but this story would point out the need.
3. What it's like for an Iraqi to live in America and why he has a different perspective on America than much of the rest of his countrymen. I don't have in my mind an action story to tell. I'd have to interview him and find a specific action story, and then through that explain some of his thoughts about America. He is here as a master's student. The Iraqi government chose him to come to American to learn how to teach English so that he can return to Iraq as an ESL teacher.
4. What it's like for Saudi Arabians to live in America and put their kids in an American school when they don't know English.
5. An African American woman is consistently criticized by black people because she speaks English more like a white person than a black person. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. She is criticized for "selling out" her race because of how she speaks. She doesn't see it as a crime that a part of the way she grew up doesn't reflect African American culture. (I don't know if this story would sound offensive being written by a white girl, but the story is about a black girl's feelings of injustice coming from her own black community.) I would need to ask her to relate some specific stories that I could write about.
6. What it's like for a corrections officer to work in the jail. Sometimes the job involves violent situations and you have to be harsh and unemotional towards the inmates, but at other times you realize that inmates are still people and the job can be really emotional, like when you hear a young guy call his mom and tell her that he's just been sentenced to twenty years.
Joelle
·
Adopting a child from Brazil -
o
Seems easy enough. But I know of a woman that has been in the
process for about eight years. She is
from Brazil, but is a U.S. citizen. She
adopted the little girl as an infant but has spent all of these years trying to
bring her here, running into roadblocks constantly, mostly by the Brazilian
government, which is apparently not a fan of children brought to U.S. for
adoption.
·
Follow a cadaver from its arrival at the Med
School until its cremation -
o
There was recently a story in the Wash U
magazine about the anatomy lab on the Med School Campus. Apparently some of the people that donate
their body to science write about their lives so the people that take the
anatomy class know something about them and don’t just see them as a
“body.” After the semester is over the
students have a memorial for each of the people that donated their bodies. What if I picked one of those people and
wrote about them? I would just have to ensure it written respectfully.
·
Woman planning a home birth -
o
It may be interesting to follow a woman planning
a home birth and even cooler to find one in her last month to be able actually
experience it with her and write about it.
Why does she choose to a home birth? Is she concerned at all about her
health and the baby’s? Also interesting, and related, would be to interview a
doula. I know a woman that works at Wash
U, is a student there and is also a doula.
·
Mother who does not vaccinate her children -
o
This has been highly debated recently. While I can somewhat understand concern about
the safety of vaccines (I was raised a vegetarian and the daughter of a health
food store owner), I can also see the medical side of the argument, working at
the Med School. I am intrigued by this
topic.
·
An acquaintance of mine is a model, and a
psychiatric nurse, and a recent contestant on The Bachelor (she was kicked off last night) -
o
I didn’t know she was going to be on The Bachelor, neither did anyone
else. Her Facebook page was deactivated
and she sort of disappeared. Then I had
heard she was filming The Bachelor. I think her day job is interesting enough to
follow her and write about. But also interesting is the contrast of her
modeling. And, of course, The Bachelor
thing.
Latasha
Title: Man of the House The story of a teenage boy (Aaron Lapsley, age 16) who helps his mother with his two younger brothers while coping with his father being away overseas due to deployment. I would not go into this interview with the focus being on the father. It would seem as if my initial focus is on Aaron’s goals and the things that he has already done to better himself as a person. However I would only use that as an introduction into his life. This would be a good feature story because of the importance of the subject matter; the father being away due to deployment. It is important that we see deployment of soldiers from different views other than the soldier. Military families are affected by deployment even when there is not war. This story should give us an understanding of why it is important for us to support programs for these families.
2. Title: Death Equals Justice: Life on Missouri Death RowI can make this feature story do one or two things depending on whom I choose to interview for the story. We can make people think about the death plenty and the use of death for justice. Or we can make people question rather or not we have the right man or woman on death row. However the last question that I would ask during this interview is the following: “Do you feel like justice was served by giving you the death plenty?” This might seem like a question that should not be asked. I think it should be asked because the person whom I will interview will express what he or she is on death row for. This would be a good featured story because the research for details and other information are public record such as the trail and news stories that were written about the case. 3. Title: Hope For Christian
Kay
1) American Cultural Studies Doctoral student teaching belly dancing to girls in St. Louis Detention Center
2) How regular Pilates instruction has helped one woman keep her shoulder from "popping out" on a regular basis, which had caused a great deal of pain, and another to return use of leg after cancer severely affected muscles.
3 Good market is very tight, but one 31 year old has made 4 job changes, first from private university and then to private companies, in the computer field in 5 years, each paying a little more.
4) Many seniors have the same bug to explore and be of service as young people. Frustrated by his rejection to teach in China with the Peace Corps for medical reasons, 67 year old Bob managed to find an alternative way to fulfill his dream, and is back in Hungary for a second time. And he's been able to give back in a way young people aren't in the position to do.
5) This has been a particularly bad winter for people with SADS. How 2 people are handling it, and what the ramifications are.
Jen
1. Follow a man through the day he buys an engagement ring. This is relevant and interesting as Valentine's Day is coming soon. I know someone who has been saving for a ring, but if he isn't planning to buy before V-day, I could get permission to stake out a jeweler and find a candidate then. This story could get even more interesting if a woman was there looking for rings and prepared to do the proposing.
2. I would like to do a story on Latasha, from class. She seems like quite a character with lots of opinions to share. There are many angles from which to approach this: foster care system graduate, mother, parent/student life. I'd need to find out things like: Is she a single parent? Does she receive a scholarship at WashU? Does she work for the school or med school? She is very passionate about education, so that could be an angle. I don't know how I would structure the story or its relevancy until I have more details.
3. I am intrigued by the audacity of Local Harvest, the restaurant/grocery store business down on Morganford by Tower Grove, to ask people in the community for $120,000 by sometime early February so they don't go out of business. Why weren't they managing their money better? Or were they, and they just had some bad luck? I've only been in St. Louis for 7 years, but this was an unprecedented move for me. Usually it's the community getting together to save an organization, not a for-profit business very publicly asking for money. I'd like to see if this has happened before, maybe write about that. Maybe write about failed business of the past, that I can track down, and where their owners are now/how they feel about Local Harvest's plea. Or how their neighboring businesses feel about the situation. I just have very conflicted emotions about their request and think it would make a good story.
4. It's Black History month…. I'd like to interview some high school freshman students, preferably black, and see just how in touch they are with what this month of reflection is supposed to be about. Are they familiar with the names and faces that are brought out this time of year? What difference does it make, if any, in there lives? Who is Black History month for, in their opinion -- blacks or whites? Is it more divisive than reconciliatory? Should this information just be integrated into everyday history textbooks? This could also be even more interesting if I could find graduates from the same high school that are freshman in college and see if the answers are different.
5. Not that the school accreditation issue isn't covered enough in St. Louis….but I'm curious how their school's accreditation status and the loss thereof affects the college plans of high school seniors in the area. Does that even factor into a college application? What are the options for a student who's school isn't accredited? I'd like to find one/some and find out. Maybe talk to guidance counselors in some of the schools….
Jamie
1. There is a young lady is always walking on the road near where I live. I’ve seen
her in different places along this road and at all hours. Her gait and appearance
make it seem like she is not walking for fitness. I think she sometimes has zinc
oxide on her nose. I’m curious what her deal is.
2. I work near the South Broadway Athletic Club. Often when I drive by it I wonder
what it is like inside, and more specifically what type of characters inhabit this
place.
3. Fred M. Kemp was a home-builder in St. Louis and renowned in the industry. His
family foundation maintains the Kemp Auto Museum in Chesterfield. I love this
place and am interested in the work they do. This idea requires some work to
develop a beginning/middle/end.
4. I found a Tumblr called People of St. Louis. The blog seems to consist of totally
random people in St. Louis and includes a few tidbits about them. I’d be interested
to hear this blogger’s ideas for their blog and what kind of experiences they’ve
had talking to random people. http://thisisstlouis.tumblr.com/
5. I surfed Craigslist personals for the first time ever in preparation for this
assignment (wow!). The “missed connections” section is intriguing. Each scenario
is so specific, I can’t imagine anyone actually makes a connection. Do any of these
people actually find who they are looking for? And if so, how does that go
afterward?
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