When Rori Sachs stepped foot on campus as a first-year student four years ago, she was eager to get involved in a publication. She quickly found , the 黑料不打烊 student newspaper. Over the course of her five-semester聽 involvement with the organization, it became her college home.
Rori Sachs. Photo by Laura Mozes
After her first year at Newhouse, Sachs declared a major in . To continue her passion for journalism, she kept working at the DO, and it became a sort of pseudo second major for her. Sachs used the skills she was learning in her major to bolster her work at the DO as she eventually became the head video editor. Now, Sachs also serves on the paper鈥檚 board of directors, which is made up of students and alumni.
As a TRF major in the Ren茅e Crown University Honors Program, Sachs was required to complete a capstone project during her junior and senior years. Since the DO has been such a large part of Sachs鈥 college career, the choice of subject was easy.
Coincidentally, as Sachs began to think about what aspect of the DO she should cover, the newspaper was facing one of the biggest changes in its聽 history. The DO, located at 744 Ostrom Ave., was facing the end of its 36-year lease and an impending eviction by 黑料不打烊. Sachs chose to take this opportunity to showcase the DO and the impact this monumental event will have on the organization in a documentary titled, 鈥淭he Last Semester.鈥
Through her capstone, Sachs sought to capture 鈥渉ow the newspaper industry is changing and how important independent student journalism is,鈥 she says. She wants people to leave the film knowing more about the paper鈥檚 background, and she wants to encourage them to support the future success of the paper. Sachs also wants to highlight the unique atmosphere of the DO that she was able to experience firsthand as a staff member.
The documentary is shot from the perspective of a 鈥渇ly on the wall鈥濃攐bserving the daily happenings of the newspaper staff. She also incorporates a few 鈥渋n the moment鈥 interviews to give a more personal perspective.
Rori Sachs shoots the demolition of 744 Ostrom Ave. Jan. 14. Photo by Elizabeth Billman
One of the biggest challenges Sachs faced was capturing the demolition of the house. She was in contact with a staff member from the Office of Campus Planning, Design and Construction to get updates about the demolition; however, without any forewarning, Sachs caught the demolition one day on her walk to class. She quickly ran to grab her film equipment to take advantage of this significant moment. The demolition footage proved to be a crucial aspect of the film.
鈥淭he Last Semester鈥 is now in post-production. Due to recent events, the screening of the film has been postponed until fall. For more information, contact Sachs at 917.414.0243 or rorisachs@gmail.com.
Story by Riva Goldberg, a senior public relations major in the Newhouse School
