Local Journalism Story One Pitch

Oakland A as the quarantine housing unit

I am looking to write a story about the people and processes of moving into the Oakland A building after testing positive for Covid-19. This idea reminds me of zombie apocalypse movies when they send the infected to a tent surrounded by doctors in hazmat suits, so I think it will be interesting to see how the university is handling sending students who have been affected by this virus to a safe location away from others students. The only information I have collected is from a conversation I had with someone I went to high school with who posted on Facebook about being quarantined in the building. I asked him about his experience, but there is definitely more left on the table for me to inquire about. I also want to talk to some people who work in the health department to see what steps they are taking. I will go to health services and see what they are doing for the students, as well as do some window peeping into Oakland A. I haven’t gathered any statistics but I think it will be vital to the story for me to ask health services about student infection rates, how they are slowing it, and what percentage of students are heading to Oakland A. This connects to a news story that affects the world today, obviously, because it has to deal with how our small University community is dealing with the virus. I think this is a way for people who have been quarantined in this building to critique the actions taken by the school if need be and also share their experiences, and hopefully warn other students on how to avoid ending up there.