Mouse in the mousse
An introduction to computer-assisted reporting
By Kenneth R. Blake, Ph.D.
Middle Tennessee State University

Directions: Write a short newspaper lead (straight news or any other style you consider appropriate) that could introduce a Sidelines story describing the incident described below. Be prepared to share your lead with the rest of the class.

Having just joined the reporting staff of Sidelines, MTSU's student newspaper, you're already working on your first story.

Earlier today, you decided to head over to the James Union Building cafeteria on campus for a bite to eat. You were filling your tray and making your way through the line when, just as you got to the dessert section, a cafeteria worker walked up with a gallon-sized container. The worker opened the container's lid, and, using a scoop, began refilling a small bin of crushed peanuts on the dessert bar. Suddenly, a brown field mouse leapt from the container and landed in a tub of chocolate mousse on the bar right in front of you. After briefly scrabbling for traction - and leaving a set of little paw prints across the surface of the mousse - the mouse gained the lip of the tub, scampered across the dessert bar dodging a vat of hot fudge and a bowl of chocolate sprinkles, hurled itself over the bar's edge, landed on the floor, and disappeared under the soft-serve ice cream machine.

Simultaneously, absolute pandemonium erupted all around you. The worker who had been holding the container of crushed peanuts screamed and dropped it, scattering crushed peanut bits all over the floor. Trays, plates, cups and utensils crashed to the floor as panicked people fled from the cafeteria counter. Food and drinks went everywhere. To your right, an angry professor shouted obscenities as someone accidentally upended the professor's tray, spilling steaming spaghetti with meatballs - the day's featured entree - all over his white dress shirt, tie, and khaki slacks. To your left, a woman in high heels slipped in some spilled gravy. Arms windmilling, she fell to the floor, gashing her head on the way down. Behind the counter, a cafeteria worker who had been passing by with a pot of bubbling hot cream of broccoli soup yelped in pain as, in all the jostling, some of the soup sloshed onto his forearm. You stumbled over someone's discarded backpack and ended up sitting in a pool of spilled soda, complete with ice cubes.

The mayhem abated as the mouse dashed out of sight under the ice cream machine. Workers appeared with brooms, mops and buckets to clean up the mess. A nursing student pressed a cloth napkin over the gash in the head of the woman who had slipped in the gravy. Blood was beginning to stain the napkin. The professor stopped shouting, tried wiping his shirt and pants with a handful of paper towels, then left in disgust. A student fished the soggy remains of a report out of a tray brimming with spilled Coke. Two paramedics arrived and took over treatment of the injured woman. They told her she would need stitches and might have cracked a bone in her arm when she hit the floor. They led her out to a waiting ambulance. A manager came out, apologized to everyone, and said the cafeteria would be closed for the rest of the day. Gradually, the cafeteria emptied of customers, leaving workers busily mopping, sweeping and wiping.

The manager declined to comment when you introduced yourself and - your backside still dripping - asked how a mouse had ended up in the container of crushed peanuts. But Campus Food Services Coordinator Jonathan McKenzie, talking to you later during an interview, called the episode an isolated incident. "We strive to keep all of our campus eateries clean and safe. Unfortunately, incidents like this happen now and then. On the whole, though, we served some 10,000 meals a day, seven days a week, with no complaints or problems."

You track down the injured woman and learn that she is a secretary in the biology department. Eight stitches were required to close the gash in her head, and she did, indeed, suffer a hairline fracture in her right forearm. She is sore and planning to take a few days off while deciding what to do next. She doesn't know yet whether she'll sue the university, she says. "Right now, I'm going to take some Tylenol and head for the couch," she says.

*****

When you're done (but not until then ... no peeking!) click here.