Because of an oilrig explosion owned by British Petroleum (BP), three students and a faculty member from Eastern will travel to the Gulf of Mexico in efforts of documenting the oil spill.

Cameron Craig geography instructor said he will be accompanied by Zach Nugent, Andrew Schubert and Michael Gismondi.

The group will be going to four areas, two include New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Craig said this trip is an opportunity to reflect about the oil spill problem and the effects it has on the population.

“We as a team want to be able to experience this connect to it, and then reflect upon it so that we can understand how this impacts us,” he said.

Craig said the group will travel by car to the Gulf of Mexico tonight as part of Ecological and Human disaster Project.

He said they will drive for a total of 14 hours and are expecting to reach their destination by Friday at noon.

Craig said the goal for this trip is to produce a documentary about the oil spill effects on humanity and nature.

Not wanting to sensationalize the documentary, Craig said it is important to interview different people and organizations.

“We are looking at interviewing different people across the board, the workers of shrimp boats, the sea food industry, the oil industry here and there but not getting into a lot of hype; we’re not trying to make this sensational,” he said.

In addition, Craig said he has no expectations for this trip.

He also said this is not his first time

working on a documentary. His previous works include topics such as: humans coexisting with nature and historical environmental aspects.

Zach Nugent, a graduate student, said this trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I’m really not sure what to expect once we get there. We’ve seen some of the video, we’ve seen the images,” he said. “We’ve heard what some people have said just from network stations but being able to see it with my eyes is an experience like none other.”

Nugent is also a reporter and anchor for WEIU-TV.

He said being part of the production team for this documentary will give him more experience as a reporter and will provide an opportunity for personal growth.

“From a reporting level, I want to gain just experience in reporting in larger stories,” Nugent said. “This disaster impacts our entire nation, and to be able to go down and cover an event of that magnitude is something I really haven’t had the chance to do.”

Michael Gismondi, a senior geography major said he is excited to be able to have this opportunity.

“I’m excited; I just want to get there,” he said.

Gismondi said going to the Gulf of Mexico will hopefully help him get a better understanding about what is happening.

“I’m just looking forward to really gain an understanding of what’s going on because I don’t have a great grasp of what it is since everything is so tainted by different media sources,” he said.

The documentary will be aired on WEIU TV, Channel 51.

However, this idea is still in the planning stage. The debate on how the presentation will be presented to the public is still in the air.

The documentary will either be released in a series piece, multiple packages or a five piece series from Monday to Friday.

Contributors to the Gulf Ecological and Human Disaster Project are the Department of Geology/Geography, Tempestas et Caelum Productions, Gamma Theta Upsilon Rho Chapter, Canter of Academic Technology Support, WEIU TV and private contributers.

Pablo Rodriguez can be reached at 581-7942 or at jprodriguez@eiu.edu.

Zach Nugent, graduate student, Cameron Craig, geography instructor, and Michael Gismondi, geography major, will be going to the Gulf of Mexico Thursday night. Pablo Rodriguez

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