Interactive stories

For some students, it’s a popular place to run. Some simply ignore it. But the 16.5-acre lot, established in 1873, remains in large part a mystery to the students who walk through it.

But to a small group of men and women with deep roots in the Eugene community, the Pioneer Cemetery is familiar ground. They work dozens of hours each month beyond the sight of students, fueled by a sense of responsibility to preserve those buried there. For some of the volunteers, that includes their own ancestors.

View “Guardians of the Graves” at the Daily Emerald, the independent student media company at the University of Oregon.

In December 2016, I traveled to Sri Lanka with a group of talented writers, video and photo journalists. They were fellow students at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.

When we returned, several of my classmates put together a beautiful website showcasing the stories we collected.

When the rainy season is dry, the rice can't grow as it should, and the whole village feels the impact. Read how the villagers in Unaweruwa in Central Sri Lanka cope.

In the hill country of Logiwatta, almost all of the villagers are involved in tea picking, work that has its fair share of health hazards. Only one Indian Tamil woman knows the ancient healing forms, and she is approaching an age where the work may get to be too much for her. Read about how she and her daughter-in-law are fighting for the time to pass on her skills, even while the demands of tea work remain unforgiving.