Alexis Gutter- Final Project Proposal

Weeknight Raging: Students Who See Every Night as Saturday

Topic: Many University of Maryland students have been to bars in College Park, many of whom were not 21 at their time of visit, and many of these students go frequently.  Some students, however, do not limit their social excursions to just the weekend.  How does this emphasis on bar crawling and potential alcoholism compromise other aspects of these students lives?  I plan to do this by finding a couple of subjects to follow and focus upon both sober and intoxicated to show contrast in addition to highlighting the general situation of weeknight partying at bars.

Relevance: 

This is a project about students currently enrolled in school which makes it relevant because it will bring a current situation that many are unaware of to the forefront.  For those who are aware, it would be enlightening to see the situation from a different perspective.  Also, I feel that in the past couple of semesters, the popularity of weeknight partying has increased.  I need to do more research to prove this, but if true, it adds to the relevance factor.

Audience:

This is a piece about students, and I feel that it most beneficial for them to see.  While I believe that this population is the direct audience, parents of students, University officials and College Park community members are in the indirect audience.

Photography Subjects:

Students at bars are the main subjects.  I plan to get many before/after shots of students inebriated with a time stamp to show how quickly things happen.

Previous Coverage:

I have some pictures that are applicable to the topic but do not plan to use them as I want to find new subjects to track.

Elements of Finished story:

I want to overlap either soundless video or pictures of binge drinking/ drunk behavior with audio of students explaining their affinities towards the subject matter sober to show contrast.

Location:

College Park bars and quiet,"sober" places

Time Restraints:

I do not really see any that apply, though I need to work on finding appropriate subjects quickly.

Run Date:

I think that any date would be appropriate.

Cost:

None

Word Reporter needed:

I do not think this is necessary

Types of Media incorporated:

Audio, video, photo