Pair gets students to talk at SLU

CANTON — Max L. Shafer used to play golf with one of his professors after class when the weather was nice. It was one of his favorite things about the academics at St. Lawrence University, he said, even though the outings didn't happen in the classroom.

Next week, anyone who visits the SLU Web site will be able to hear his story, and see him talk about it, thanks to a student-produced video project two other students are working on.

Armed with a small hand-held camera and a tripod, senior Chelsea R. Nuffer and freshman Courtney W. Higgins were outside on a sunny Friday, battling the wind to get students to describe their favorite thing about academics at SLU.

"It's shaky. People are going to stutter," Miss Nuffer said. "It's about getting people in the moment."

Another interview subject, senior Samantha J. Rodriguez, talked about how she decided to become a fine arts major because one professor encouraged her and let her explore new things.

"I love St. Lawrence!" she yelled at the end of her interview, while the camera was still running.

The videos are updated every week and cover a variety of subjects. Miss Nuffer asked people to describe the university in one word, and Miss Higgins said she plans to do a video about the student government and how it is always looking for new members.

The videos are usually one to seven minutes long, but they can take nearly six hours to edit, according to Miss Nuffer. Combined with classes and other campus commitments, it can be a lot.

"Some weeks, I go crazy," Miss Nuffer said. "I'm very organized; I don't know any other way I can say it. Just breathe. Just let it happen."

Students began creating videos for the SLU Web site last year as a work-study job. When the first student who had the job graduated, Miss Nuffer jumped on the chance. She is now training Miss Higgins to take over when she graduates in May. The two have done a few videos together, and Miss Higgins will be doing some on her own soon, they said.

"I work for my news station back home. I anchor for them," Miss Higgins said. "I've never really worked behind the camera. I think I want to be a news anchor."

Though many of the interviews the women film are scheduled, some are on the spur of the moment. Most students are happy to help them out and get in front of the camera, they said.

"Some people were like, 'No, I'm not going to be on camera,'" Miss Nuffer said. "There was one kid who slammed the door and then opened it again and did it."

For this week's video, which will appear on the Web site today, the girls filmed a group of dance students, students who live in sustainable-living housing and a group of science students who were collecting environmental samples, equipped with boots and buckets.

Coming soon is a film about favorite places on campus and things to do before graduation.

"There's all kinds of stories about it, things like 'sit in an Adirondack chair' or 'go up to the bells when they ring.' I'm actually going to do it," Miss Nuffer said. "I want seniors to see it and say, 'Let's go do these things.'"