The past weeks have been crazy with trying to finish this documentary, that I haven’t really had the time to reflect on the class as a whole and everything we have learned this semester. I am glad the Professor Smith recapped the class and all the amazing piece of work and film makers we have meet this year, on Wednesday night. I was really shocked when Andy said that it has been five years since the shooting at sandy hook, and talked about how we were able to meet Kim Synder the director of the documentary “Newtown” and discuss the process of making her film. I realized that I never blogged about the Newtown film. I think it honestly was a lot to process. Making a such a serious film on such a deeply upsetting topic is no simple challenge. I was really moved by not only the accounts of the parents and teachers, but how the memories of these children were encapsulated within the film.  The photos and the home footage, the video of kids running to the bus, the marks on the wall, that is what is still ingrained in my memory. Without this in depth and personal images I feel as though the film would not be as moving. When you hear about a tragedy like this you immediately want to try to detach yourself to cope with it. When you see these children’s faces you really can’t detach.

For PB N LV I found that this was the biggest things missing in our film. If you are a parent with a child below the age of two in the Lehigh Valley, I think it would be easier to sympathize. But what about everyone else students and residents of the Lehigh Valley without young children. This is something we struggled with, how could the film get people who don’t have children below the age of two in the Lehigh valley to really feel the effects that lead has on children and care about it.

In our film, you can hear Doctor Walty talk about the negative health and you can see the stock image of an infant, but I believe the audience would have had a deeper connection if they were able to see or hear from a real child that is suffering from lead poisoning. They wouldn’t have been able to detach from the issue.

For multiple reasons, we weren’t able to get any parents of children or children that had suffer from lead poisoning to be in our film.  At certain points my group thought about incorporating film of random children. I didn’t feel like it was ethically sound for us to film random kids and imply they had lead poisoning. That was something that was constantly up for debate within my group. If faces weren’t showed was it okay? I just felt like it was an invasion of these children privacy for us to film them without them knowing. And in the end, I am thankful that my group respected the decision to not incorporate something that I felt was ethically wrong in our film.

Overall, I am still extremely happy with the film. We did it. It was difficult and exhausting. It was not an easy topic to do. But even if I had the opportunity to go back and change the topic, I wouldn’t. I wanted to do this film to bring attention to an issue that is important. No child should still be suffering from lead poisoning, when education, proactive screening and awareness can’t help prevent prolonged exposure.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FMsykLluKjKXB9awv9lDhqdnZroqqtij/view?usp=sharing

1. In Allentwon one in four children has levels of lead in the blood over 5 micrograms per deciliter, which, according to the CDC, is higher than average and should be treated by a health care professional.
2. Lead-based paint in older homes is a major source of lead exposure in young kids. Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation for housing built before 1950, when lead was most prevalent in paint and plumbing, according to 2010 Census data.
3. Each year in the United States, 310,000 1- to 5-year-old kids are found to have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, which can lead to a wide range of symptoms, from headaches and stomach pain to behavioral problems and anemia (not enough healthy red blood cells). Lead also can affect a child’s developing brain
4. There are 20 Pennsylvania cities where the lead exposure rate is over 9.37 percent, that is, the percentage of children with elevated lead levels.
5. In Flint, Michigan, where officials have declared a crisis situation, the percentage is just over 3.21 percent

Lauren, Mekhi, DT,

Originally our documentary was Gifted Youngins, but we have now decided to go into a different direction. We will still be focusing on kids in the Lehigh Valley, but we’ve decided to look serious health issues in children, lead poisoning. Young children are extremely vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead and can suffer both profound and permanent health effects, including damage to the brain and nervous system.

Over the past two years, a great deal of national attention has been focused towards lead poisoning in cities like Flint Michigian. But Flint isn’t the only place this happening. Recent studies have shown that 1 in 4 kids under the age of 7 in Allentown unsafe levels oflead in their blood. High enough to be considered a risk by CDC (Center for Disease Control).

We hope to undercover the issues surrounding lead poisoning in the Lehigh Valley, why it is the issue so severe and what is being done to combat it.

Our sentence:

We are researching the high levels of lead in the neighborhood and how it’s impacting the community and it’s children.

I will be interviewing Isabella Fiorita, president of Alpha Phi, a Greek chapter of around 70 women at Lafayette College. As a member of Alpha Phi, I know Bella as president, but I also knew Bella before either of us joined Alpha Phi. Isabella is only 21, and has a great deal of responsibility. In her position, she at times is held responsible for the actions of collective group of 80 or so of her peers. No matter the age being the authority figure for that many people is difficult.

Isabella’s term as president is coming to an end and within the next two months a new president of the chapter will be elected. This makes it a perfect time to talk to Isabella about her experience in the position. I have always wondered what inspired her to run for the position in the first place, and over the course of the past year how has she think the position has changed her.

Some potential questions:

What characteristics do you think a good leader requires?

What characteristics do you think a good leader should have?

What is the greatest challenge you face regarding be an authority figure, for both your friends and peers?

Do you think young people can make good leaders?

Over the course of the last year how does she think the position has impacted you?

Would do it all again if you could?