They learned, they laughed, they danced, they interviewed, they reported, they recorded, they edited, they produced, they created. Students from across Montana and beyond left the 2024 Montana Summer Journalism Camp with new friends and a whole box of new storytelling tools. And, they left having created some pretty cool projects too, if we do say so ourselves. (And, they even did all of that in the middle of an historic storm in Missoula that cut power to the campus for several days, so they are already ready for the unexpected in the real world.)
Thanks to the Hearst Foundation and Humanities Montana for supporting this program!
Here’s a sampling of their final projects:
Webs of Steam Tunnels Network Below Campus
Webs of Steam Tunnels Network Below Campus
by Joseph Straub, Donovan Peterson and Cymon Tangen
When you step foot into the University of Montana’s campus center, you may not know that behind a set of unsuspecting doors is the gateway to a dark and humid world that remains almost entirely unseen throughout the year.
This fall season, more than 10,000 students and staff alike returned to the University of Montana campus, but they may be oblivious to the sprawling web of tunnels that run just a few feet below.
Built around eight feet tall, and six feet across, the tunnels underneath the UM house miles of pipe that carry steam from a local heating plant to warm the campus during the colder months.
While few know about the tunnels, even fewer have dared to venture into them, as doing so without permission is considered trespassing, and could potentially be met with a nasty fine, or even jail time. Still, legal action doesn’t scare everyone away from underground adventure.
“People find their way into those tunnels – really illegally,” said Clay Murphy, a third-year student at UM.
A former student and janitorial employee, Elinor Smith, who had previously worked under janitorial administrator Dale Robertson took a particular interest in the tunnels several years prior, when she had heard “[rumors]” about how dangerous steam tunnels could be, and the potential to get lost.
Robertson suggested in a later interview with UM Summer Journalism Camp reporters that, while not especially dangerous, the walls within the tunnels likely carry asbestos, which can cause mesothelioma, and lung cancer when inhaled.
Once a month, Roberston makes his way through the basement doors, down a dimly lit concrete corridor, and checks a meter to record the campus’s steam usage. In either direction, are long halls of concrete hugged by white pipe that twist and turn far out of view.
Montana Journalism 