by Jilleen Barrett, Asst. A&E Editor

Now that all classes are online, many Jaspers are taking up new hobbies to avoid getting cabin fever during quarantine. One of these students is senior economics and finance major, Ian Scheuer. Scheuer has been making vlogs on his Instagram account @schu.vlog.

Scheuer is involved with many extracurriculars on campus, giving him little time to pursue film. As vice president of the Gaelic Society, a member of the executive board for the investment club and a javelin thrower for the track and field team, he doesn’t typically have time to produce videos. He started making vlogs after the school announced the suspension of face to face classes, and now has no plans of stopping.

“I’ve always been interested in editing and producing and stuff like that but my schedule at school didn’t really permit time for that,” Scheuer said. “So, with this lockdown [I’m] kind of sitting around at home and [have] this free time. I think it just opened a window to try something new, and I’m really starting to like it.”

Scheuer’s vlogs focus on different aspects of his life. They range from a video on the experiences of his rescue dog, Coop, which was told from Coop’s perspective, to his relationship with his father. In his most recent post, he shows the process of creating a quarantine inspired song with his cousin made entirely of random sounds. The first vlog on the account, “Vlog 1: No More Chonk” takes a look at how part of his routine of going to the gym was affected by the lockdown of his home state New Jersey. He was inspired to make these types of videos by famous YouTuber Casey Neistat. 

“I was a huge Casey Neistat fan when he was vlogging,” Scheuer said. “He was like my idol in high school [and] growing up, and then he stopped [vlogging], and I just kind of had a longing to see stuff like that again so I just thought, why not make it.”

As of right now, Scheuer is vlogging on Instagram using IGTV and he’s working on starting a TikTok account. He feels that these are better platforms to grow while establishing a noticeable presence as a vlogger.

“I really do think that Instagram, TikTok and other social medias… [provide] more of a chance to grow and get views,” Scheuer said. “I feel like you have to be a very established creator on YouTube to have a mass following, but it’s a lot easier and more convenient for people on Instagram or TikTok to watch your videos or share them.”

Though Scheuer’s videos have the same nature as those on Buzzfeed, he’s not sure that he’ll be making a career out of vlogging. For right now, he’s just focusing on having fun with it and learning more about making videos.

“It’s really something to look forward to,” Scheuer said. “In the future when this lockdown is over, I’m gonna get a lot more of my friends and family [involved].”