The Axle: For my story idea this week, I really want to dive deep into how the return of in-person instruction in both high school and college has helped improve the mental and social states of students. It is no secret that the majority of people felt isolated and alone during the peak of the pandemic when there was no in-person instruction, sporting events, and social events. What really inspired me for this idea was honestly realizing how much my mental and social states have changed and I want to see how it has personally affected others while also seeing if the people on the outside looking in have noticed.
The Riders: The best people to interview for this story are definitely high school students, college students, the teachers/professors, and guidance counselors/mental health services at these high schools and college campuses. It is a no-brainer that interviewing the high school students and college students would give the best inside look of how their mental health and social skills have changed with now being allowed to attend in person events within their school districts. They are the people who have experienced this story in its entirety first hand, making them the stars. The teachers and professors I would definitely want to interview to see if they have noticed a difference between their students work, personality and their all around persona with now being in person. Both teachers and professors have been able to see how these students acted with everything being virtual compared to how they are now with things being in person. Lastly, I would like to interview guidance counselors and mental health services. These people are experts when looking into the mental and social states of students and getting their opinion on how in person instruction and events within the school has helped these students would really drive the story. Making it specific to the state college area, I would definitely get in contact with high schools in this area, most likely State College Area High School, and Penn State University for the college student angle.
The Spokes: I definitely think it would bring an emotional appeal by including footage of both the high school and college’s empty classrooms, empty football field and even an empty shot of the cafeteria and HUB. I would do quick cuts to these places now being full and full of people being social. I also think it would be cool to include students sitting at home in either their homes or apartments sitting behind their computer screens and that being their only source of any type of interaction with one another. I would most definitely want to include SOT footage of interviews with these students, teachers/professors, and guidance counselors/people of mental health services to really get the feel of the transition in these students’ mental and social states. My natural sound would include the students being together in the HUB, cafeterias, sporting events and even just walking around the halls/campus with one another. If possible, I would also want to include the natural sound of someone being in a zoom classroom and then signing off with the emphasis on how silent it is when they sign off, contributing to the loneliness and loneliness aspect of pre in-person instruction/events.
The Rim:
Beginning – I want the beginning to feature the quick cuts of the empty spaces of the high school and college campus switching to these areas being full of life and people being social. I also want to feature a shot of a student on zoom and being alone separated from everyone and then switching to them being around people in class. I think this really helps set the tone of seeing how emotionally draining and emotional it was for these students to be experiencing such loneliness without in-person instruction and events.
Middle – In the middle, I really want to provide stats on how bad students’ mental and social states were at the peak of the pandemic when anything and everything they did was virtual. This will also be the bulk of my interviews with the students, teachers/professors and guidance counselors/mental health services to really express how much of an impact in-person events and instructio has had on these students of both high school and college.
End – The ending would really focus on how happier these students are being together with one another in-person rather than virtual. Their smiles and body language will give off the appeal that their mental and social states have already improved greatly. The shots of occupied classrooms, sporting events and hallways/campus would also be great for the end.