Feature
Pitch 1: Squirrels are coming into the dorms during the winter, causing issues for residents.
Pitch 2: Most students that attend UNE are from the New England area, but some come from states further away. What draws these students to the school despite the distance?
Early Draft: Winter in the Dorms: Squirrels Invade
As temperatures drop outside, the wildlife finds their way inside.
At the University of New England, the winter months are accompanied by freezing temperatures and multiple feet of snow. While students living on campus may have to walk to class in this harsh weather, the dorms they reside in are equipped with heating. Unfortunately, these comfortable living conditions have caught the attention of some unwelcomed visitors.
Residents on the third floor of Champlain Hall began to spot squirrels in their building, beginning sometime in late December. Resident Advisors were alerted and jumped into action to catch and release the intruders before any damage could be done.
Quote from RA
Maintenance had been contacted about the issue and fixed the walls the squirrels were purportedly coming in through. For a few days residents believed the issue had been solved, until the pesky critters were seen yet again when students returned for the spring semester.
Resident quote
It’s safe to say that the Champlain residents will be on high alert until the weather begins to warm up and the squirrels return to their home in the great outdoors.
Developed Draft: Winter in the Dorms: Squirrels Invade
As temperatures drop outside, the wildlife finds their way inside.
By Emery Carangio
At the University of New England, the winter months are accompanied by freezing temperatures and multiple feet of snow. While students living on campus may have to walk to class in this harsh weather, the dorms they reside in are equipped with heating. Unfortunately, these comfortable living conditions have caught the attention of some unwelcomed visitors.
On the night of December 2nd, 2025, residents on the third floor of Champlain Hall found a squirrel roaming through the halls. Shocked and confused, the residents reached out to their Resident Advisors, known simply as RAs, for help.
Pest control was contacted, but would not be there till the following morning. In the meantime, there was still a squirrel on the loose.
The RAs jumped into action to catch and release the intruder before any damage could be done. But, only hours later, another squirrel was spotted.
Residents volunteered to help trap the animal and transport it back to the woods it came from. Afterwards, residents were warned by their RAs to stay diligent and be careful about leaving out food. Maintenance was contacted about the issue and fixed the walls the squirrels were purportedly coming in through. For a few days residents believed the issue had been solved, until the pesky critters were seen yet again when students returned to their dorms for the spring semester.
On January 20th, 2026, Ramos sent out a message alerting students that the squirrels have returned, with six sightings happening over the course of three days.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come into my room next.” Sophomore Jocelyn Dunnels said. Dunnel’s room, like those of a few other residents, was listed as one with possibility of having squirrels gaining access to.
Workshop draft: Winter in the Dorms: Squirrels Invade
As temperatures drop outside, the wildlife finds their way inside.
By Emery Carangio
At the University of New England, the winter months are accompanied by freezing temperatures and multiple feet of snow. While students living on campus may have to walk to class in this harsh weather, the dorms they reside in are equipped with heating. Unfortunately, these comfortable living conditions have caught the attention of some unwelcomed visitors.
On the night of December 2nd, 2025, residents on the third floor of Champlain Hall found a squirrel roaming through the halls. Shocked and confused, the residents reached out to their Resident Advisors, known simply as RAs, for help.
Pest control was contacted, but would not be there till the following morning. In the meantime, there was still a squirrel on the loose.
The RAs jumped into action to catch and release the intruder before any damage could be done. But, only hours later, another squirrel was spotted.
Residents volunteered to help trap the animal and transport it back to the woods it came from. Afterwards, residents were warned by their RAs to stay diligent and be careful about leaving out food.
“We’re still unsure how they got in, but the belief is that they glided from a nearby branch into a vent.” Senior RA Zakary Ramos said. Maintenance was contacted about the issue and fixed the walls the squirrels were purportedly coming in through. For a few days residents believed the issue had been solved, until the pesky critters were seen yet again when students returned to their dorms for the spring semester.
On January 20th, 2026, Ramos sent out a message alerting students that the squirrels have returned, with six sightings happening over the course of three days.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come into my room next.” Sophomore Jocelyn Dunnels said. Dunnel’s room, like those of a few other residents, was listed as one with possibility of having squirrels gaining access to.
The holes found in the kitchen areas of the dorms, mainly the cabinets and drawers, were closed by facilities and the squirrel sighting cleared up.
This isn’t the first time animals have taken shelter in campus buildings. It’s common for squirrels and other small animals to climb into walls during the winter.
“When the weather gets cold the squirrels need somewhere to go and they just happened to pick Champ,” Ramos said. “But I’ve never heard of it happening as bad as the issue that we had.”
Workshop Reflection: I found the workshop to be very helpful. I was having trouble figuring out what kinds of qoutes I needed and how to fit them into the piece. My peers gave me some feedback on what the wanted to hear and who they wanted to hear it from, and I kept that in mind while revising. A few people said a qoute from the RA would be great, so I made sure to get a few in there.
Project Reflection: I found the experience of creating and working on a feature story to be very beneficial to my understanding of journalism. The easiest part for me was coming up with a pitch, but after that the real work started to begin. I don’t think that my first draft was really bad, but it definitely had lots of room for improvement. When I started to revise it after the workshop, I realized that I needed to expand my story as I was running out of things to write about. I decided to add more about how the issue was fixed and the involvement of maintenance since that was something a few of my peers said they’d like to hear more about.
It wasn’t until after the workshop that I finally got to ask questions to my RA, which was the main source of my information. I got a lot of new details from him that I think really helped advance the story. With his interview, I also now had plenty of material to use for quotes, including an ending quote. I think that this interview is what really helped me progress my story to the next level.
Even though they were the most rewarding, getting interviews was the most challenging part of this project. It took me a long time to hear back from my RA, and once I did we still struggled to find a time to meet. In the end, I ended up having to send him the questions and have him send me a message back with his answers. I still got a lot of usable information and quotes doing it this way, but I think an in person interview with him would have been even better. After completing this project, I can really see how much work journalists have to do to create a piece.
