Cadaver Lab

The cadaver lab story had a strong start with different angle ideas and creative photo content. The more we contacted sources we realized that there was a hurdle we had to handle. Since the cadaver lab deals with human bodies there are privacy issues that  we had to address. We emailed Dr. Michael Jones expressing our sensitivity to the subject and proposing possible interview times. He got back to us expressing that he didn’t have time for an extensive interview, but was available for a short conversation. I reached out to some friends who I knew participated in a class that involved the cadaver lab. I got some background information to help form questions to talk about in the interview portion.

We continued to work hard to find different sources while we waited to get permission to get photographs of the lab. Time was ticking and we were on a deadline so we had to adjust our plan accordingly. After patiently waiting, Dr. Jones finally gave us permission to take photos of the cadaver lab.

Getting pictures was a huge accomplishment for us since the cadaver lab doesn’t usually allow photography. Meanwhile, I was busy finding sources that had experience with working in the lab. Luckily I was able to get some background knowledge early on from biotech students. One senior student said, ” the professor had to read over this super long guidelines list explaining that there are no photographs allowed within the lab and that it is normal to faint.”

Many classes get tours of the lab, but only the top two achieving students get to work with the bodies. I posted questions on different social media platforms to get feedback on different angles and possible interviewees. I got the most engagement on Facebook and found a student who had worked directly with the bodies.

Venus Tran, a top student, pursuing a future as a dentist agreed to answer some questions. We set up an interview time and got a great video interview of her describing what it is like working with dead bodies and the rumor about the room being coined “the most air-conditioned place on campus.”

We had a few hurdles while completing this story package, but we worked together to adjust our timeline and get everything done.

“This story has taught me so much about planning and being persistent,” Sabrina Thompson said.

It was important that we all were flexible and worked together during this round of stories. Since we had two stories going on at the same time, we all had to do a little bit of everything in order to make the deadline.

“I’ve gotten to dive back into the world of news writing, and this story has allowed me to connect with great people,” Katie Biddle said.

This experience has been a learning experience for everyone in our group because we got a chance to tackle jobs that we haven’t done in a while. James got to explore the realm of photography and video and get creative.

“This story had challenged me to think creatively with how I shoot and create media,” James Hayes said.

Overall, We all learned a lot about communication, working together, and getting work together in a timely manner. Moving forward we want to contact sources earlier so that we don’t run into timing issues.