Watch out Stone Phillips. A new generation of television producers is on the brink of college graduation, and all are sufficiently prepared to take on the national news scene.
Students in the course "Producing TV Programs for Social Change" premiered their final projects in Cabot Hall on Monday night. The four ten-minute long news pieces were entirely filmed, edited, and produced by students, each with their own agenda for promoting one aspect of "social change."
According to their instructor, former "Dateline NBC" producer Roberta Oster-Sachs, the class assignment was to "go out and follow your passion." The four documentaries covered a wide range of topics, from gay marriage to homelessness to the "lost girls" of Sudan to MOST, the Multiracial Organization of Students at Tufts.
"Jennifer & Jennifer: the Gay Marriage Debate," took an in depth look at the "personal implications of gay marriage," according to sophomore producer Alicia Neubig.
The news piece focused on a lesbian couple, their son Emit, and their dedication toward pushing the gay marriage cause. Senior producer Yael Friedkin explained that the group chose to focus on the gay marriage debate because "[there is] a lot of passion behind the issue."
The controversial matter turned into an equally contentious documentary, as a question and answer session following the screening proved. Audience members grilled the producers on the film's objectivity. The four producers countered that they made a concerted effort to show opinions different from those of the film's subjects, Jennifer & Jennifer. "We wanted to put forth a documentary for social change," said sophomore producer Lisa Miller in response to an audience question," and I think we did."
Seniors Maritsa Christoudias and Hana Yoo and junior Emily Meyer collaborated to produce the moving documentary, "Homelessness: Somebody Else's Life." The piece looked at the depressing lifestyles of four homeless people, and the efforts made by the Somerville Homeless Coalition and Tufts senior Muzammil Mustufa to help those who live on the streets. In a segment that depicted the struggles of a life of poverty, a homeless man named Ken glumly stated, "I look at the world in a different way than you do."
In what literally was a different world, "Finding the Lost Girls of Sudan" explored the somber situation facing female refugees from the civil wars of Sudan. The story of the "lost boys" of Sudan has been well documented, and senior producer Ashley Umbro said the group chose to look at "why [it is] so different for girls to settle." Centering on the experience of Aduei Riak, a Sudanese refugee currently attending Brandeis University, the film brought a local slant to an international issue.
Conversely, "These Colors...Race and Color Consciousness at Tufts" examined a very campus-specific matter, the issues facing multiracial students. Takhani Kromah described their documentary in the post-screening discussion as "Less a journalistic piece than a statement." The documentary concentrated on the personal struggles of four Tufts students in a society that is intent on classifying people by race.
"Producing TV Programs for Social Change" is co-sponsored by the University College, the Ex-College, and the Communication and Media Studies department. Dean of the University College Rob Hollister commended the creation of the course, stating, "The process of telling a story in film is a different process than writing a term paper. Our role in University College is to generate active citizenship in the class. This isn't directly about active citizenship, but it's another way of teaching it."
Oster-Sachs brought her professional newsroom experience to the class in addition to bringing in speakers from the media. Her goal was to instruct the students on "journalistic ethics, values, fairness, and balance." In her introduction before the screenings, Oster-Sachs lovingly called the course "intense," a feeling that was echoed by her students.
"We had no idea what we were getting into," Christoudias said. "The classroom was literally like a newsroom and Roberta was our executive producer."
The intensity was evident from the beginning of the course when students went to New Hampshire for the Democratic Primary and filmed a collaborative eight minute story.
The producers of "Jennifer & Jennifer" and "Finding the Lost Girls of Sudan" are submitting their documentaries to student film festivals.
