#JElection Reflection- Kelly Mueller

On November 6th 2012—Election Day—Alison Mango and I talked to 8 faculty, students and staff members on Lehigh’s campus and 8 people on the North side of Bethlehem. This assignment was not only very practical and interesting, but it was also rewarding as I gained insight into the various views, concerns and thoughts regarding the election from a wide variety of citizens. Some interviewees were very hesitant to talk in front of camera and spoke only briefly about the issues that they found the most important. On the other hand, we did encounter other interviewees who were more than willing to express their candid opinion in detail and some even used this interview as an opportunity to give Alison and I a 10-minute lecture on economic and foreign policy. Despite my efforts, I am only knowledgeable of the surface level of social, economic and foreign issues that affect the United States, so I was thoroughly impressed with the eloquent and persuasive answers we received from the interviewees.

 My least favorite video was likely the one where we interviewed Ryan Miller. Being one of our first videos, we weren’t prepared to ask any additional questions after asking the ones provided on the sheet. This led to some discontinuity in the flow of the video and also just made us, the interviewers, seem a little timid and uncomfortable during the interview. Ryan also talked very quietly and at times was barely audible However, I did like some aspects of this video, such as the shooting location, as the video was shot outdoors which provided a pleasant ambiance and a nice background environment.

 Despite the great responses we got from both the interviewees in the Lower UC cafeteria, the crowded lunchroom made for poor sound quality. Despite this, I really liked the interviews that took place in the lunchroom setting because the interviewees just seemed to be more at ease and more talkative when sitting in a crowded environment, as opposed to the interviews that were conducted after the interviewees were ambushed while walking outside to class by themselves.

            My favorite video would likely be when Alison and I talked to a grad student, Charles French, in the Upper UC. Although the audio of this  video was relatively quiet throughout,  it was the speaker himself who really made the video. With the ambiance of students and faculty eating in the background, Charles French wasn’t hesitant to speak and was very vocal in his perspectives of the candidates. The fact they he spoke so confidently and stood firmly by his opinions really added value to the video.