1. A local story I am thinking about is reporting on mental health on campus. College students experience a lot of stress and anxiety due to the demands of school, work, in additional to stress in their personal lives. I would be interested in learning about different Baruch students’ experiences with mental health and how they’ve navigated getting services such as therapy — if they have tried — from either Baruch’s Counseling Center or around the city. For sound bits, I would include interviews, also maybe record the sounds in these students’ everyday lives (i.e. foot traffic on campus, the subway, chatter).
2. A second pitch is a local story in my Bronx community. Near my apartment there is a CrossFit gym that has given the community access to take back control of their health and bodies. The founder of Brutal Boxx CrossFit is Jose Morales who founded the gym “in 2014 after serving five years in federal prison.” It was during his incarceration that he became very passionate about CrossFit — training for it constantly. After being released from prison, Morales was on a mission to bring CrossFit back to his community to “educate others on the benefits of living a more active lifestyle.” I would be interested in learning more about Morales’s story and what his gym has meant for the local community. For sound bits, I would include interviews with Morales — if possible — as well as gym members. I would also include the sounds of the gym (i.e. ropes hitting the floor, instructors training members, grunting from working out, the above ground 4 train near by, etc.)