wilkes university newsletter

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Wilkes University est.1933 Class starts blog On the spot: Christine Melon Research accepted at ECA Forensics team impresses Dr. Estwick presents research Department welcomes competitors PFA 3 2 17 12 2 23 By: Laura Boone For one week in January, ten Wilkes Uni- versity students embarked on the trip of a lifetime to study the history of communi- cations in London, England. e class was officially titled “e History of Communications and Technology,” and was taught by Dr. Mark Stine of the Com¬munications department and Dr. John Hepp from the History department. e other students on the trip included Alexandra Zero, Danielle Jurnak, T.J. Dennis, Jon Kadjeski, Aubree Armezzani, Marie Valiquette, Rachel Leggieri, Michael Wintermute and Amanda Leonard. While in London, we visited a small sampling of the city’s many museums and historic sites. We went to the Museum of London, the British Museum, King’s Cross and St. Pancras train stations, the Brit- ish Library, Fleet Street (a once bustling newspaper district), BBC Broadcasting House, the Science Museum, the Green- wich Observatory, the Painted Hall and the Imperial War Museum. At each spot our professors would give short “stand- ups” on the importance of what we were about to see. rough visiting these sites, we were able to learn about not only the rich history of London, but also how communications developed through the centuries. We saw the early beginnings of communica-tion with the Rosetta Stone and the Gutenberg Bible, while also learning about com- munication today with a tour of the BBC Broadcasting House. In addition to the educational side of our trip, we also took part in the typical touristy side of London. We saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Horse Guards, the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, Abbey Road and the Abbey Road Recording Studios, Picca- dilly Circus (which is London’s equiva- lent of Times Square in New York City), Oxford Circus and many more amazing sites. rough our visit to the Greenwich Observatory we were even able to stand on the Prime Meridian Line and be in the Western and Eastern hemispheres at the same time. We were also able to learn more about the culture of London and the idiosyn- Learning about the History of Communications while in London

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Page 1: Wilkes University Newsletter

Wilkes University est.1933

Class starts blog

On the spot: Christine Melon

Research accepted at ECA

Forensics team impresses

Dr. Estwick presents research

Department welcomes competitors PFA3

21712

223

By: Laura Boone

For one week in January, ten Wilkes Uni-versity students embarked on the trip of a lifetime to study the history of communi-cations in London, England.

The class was officially titled “The History of Communications and Technology,” and was taught by Dr. Mark Stine of the Com¬munications department and Dr. John Hepp from the History department.

The other students on the trip included Alexandra Zero, Danielle Jurnak, T.J. Dennis, Jon Kadjeski, Aubree Armezzani, Marie Valiquette, Rachel Leggieri, Michael Wintermute and Amanda Leonard.

While in London, we visited a small sampling of the city’s many museums and historic sites. We went to the Museum of London, the British Museum, King’s Cross and St. Pancras train stations, the Brit-ish Library, Fleet Street (a once bustling

newspaper district), BBC Broadcasting House, the Science Museum, the Green-wich Observatory, the Painted Hall and the Imperial War Museum. At each spot our professors would give short “stand-ups” on the importance of what we were about to see.

Through visiting these sites, we were able to learn about not only the rich history of London, but also how communications developed through the centuries. We saw the early beginnings of communica-tion with the Rosetta Stone and the Gutenberg Bible, while also learning about com-munication today with a tour of the BBC Broadcasting House.

In addition to the educational side of our trip, we also took part in the typical touristy side of London. We saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Horse Guards, the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, Abbey Road and the Abbey Road Recording Studios, Picca-dilly Circus (which is London’s equiva-lent of Times Square in New York City), Oxford Circus and many more amazing sites. Through our visit to the Greenwich Observatory we were even able to stand on the Prime Meridian Line and be in the Western and Eastern hemispheres at the same time. We were also able to learn more about the culture of London and the idiosyn-

Learning about the History of Communications while in London

Page 2: Wilkes University Newsletter

By: Jonathan Bowman

For the students who have worked with the Speech and De¬bate team or are taking a public speaking class, you probably already know Christine Mellon. A visiting assistant professor of Commu-nication Studies, Mel¬lon is the Director of Forensics for Wilkes University. She is responsible for coaching the Wilkes Speech and Debate team. In addition, she hosts at least two forensics competi¬tions each year, a high school competition and the annual Cox Intercollegiate Tournament in February. This is Mellon’s third year on the faculty at Wilkes.

Mellon graduated from the University of Scranton with a dual degree in Communications and Philosophy. That is where Mel¬lon started to get a love for speech and debate; she was recruited to join the team by one of her profes¬sors, Edward Warner. While on the Speech and Debate Team she was a policy debater. During her ju-nior and senior years, Mellon was the Pennsylvania State Champion for a college debate on energy. “Being on the team is the one single thing that I can point to that brought me success in my career,” said Mellon. “It gave me confidence.” Pictured on the right is Christine Mellon in her office.

On The Spot: Christine Mellon, Director of Speech & Debate

By: David Cook &Dr. Jane Elmes-Crahall

The Speech Team got off to a successful start during the first week of the current semester, when they traveled to Montreal, Canada, for the team’s first international competition in recent history. The tour-nament was held within the Fairmont:

The Queen Elizabeth, the hotel made fa-mous for John Len¬non and Yoko Ono’s “Bed-in” in 1969. In 2011, however, the hotel will be remembered for the suc-cess that the Speech Team had at its first tournament of the spring (at least in our minds).

The Speech Team knew there was going to be strong competition at the Montreal

tournament, and nobody was sure as to how their speeches and performances would compare at this elevated level. This was especially true for David Cook, the captain of the Debate Team, who entered the event of Impromptu Speaking for the first time since competing in the event two years prior. While proud of his per-formance, Cook was surprised to find out he had advanced to the finals.

“I had only competed in the event once before, and honestly, my performance was far from spec-tacular. I guess it was something about this tournament that brought me to a level I didn’t know I could reach,” Cook said.

Not only did Cook make it to the finals in Impromptu, but he took first place and

swept the event, taking first place in both prelim rounds and the finals. Also having great success in Montreal was Melissa Caprio, who made it to finals in Persua¬sive Speaking and brought Wilkes University a sixth place award in that event.

After Montreal, the Speech Team headed home to prepare for Wilkes University’s own College Forensics Tournament, which featured very diverse competition from 12 different schools. The tournament, held on Feb 5, 2011, was a great success on many fronts for the team. First and foremost, the tournament ran smoothly with no setbacks, thanks to excellent work in the TAB Room by Kristy Barner and Brandon Wesneski. “Having an on time tourna¬ment is

Wilkes Forensics Team Impresses During Spring Semester

Dr. Estwick in her office at Capin. She will be presenting research on the digital video industry in Barbados.

By: Allison Roth

For Dr. Evene Estwick, assistant professor of Communication Studies, receiving an acceptance letter in the mail was all she needed to start another journey abroad. Reading the words, “I would like to inform you that the selection com¬mittee has de-cided to accept your submission” sealed the statement that she would be presenting her research in Athens, Greece.

Dr. Estwick’s research presen¬tation is entitled Birth of a Digital Nation: A Case of the Digital Video Industry in Barbados. She will be presenting it at the 9th Annual International Conference on Com-munication and Mass Media on May 16-19, 2011.

Dr. Estwick is eager to attend.“The opportunity to present my research to a group of academics from all over the world is an exciting one and I look forward to learning about new develop-ments in the field of international mass media,” said Estwick. As if pre¬senting her hard work in a beautiful country isn’t exciting enough, the conference has a special evening organized

with live Greek music, dancing, a one-day cruise to the Aegean islands and an educational urban walk around Athens. This opportunity will give Dr. Eswick an eye-opening experi-ence to mass media abroad and hopefully she can take what she learns at the conference and apply that knowledge to mass media classes at Wilkes. While the Communication Studies de-partment would like to join you on your expedition to Greece, Dr. Estwick, we will have to make do by wishing you the very best of luck at the conference. Bon Voyage!

Dr. Estwick Invited to Present Research at Conference in Greece

Photo: Everystockphoto.com

Photo: Speech Team in Montreal, Canada.

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Page 3: Wilkes University Newsletter

By: Lindsay Behrenshausen

This semester the COM 300 class, Com-munication Criticism, is taking to the web as they begin a class blog. The online forum will have three main subject areas where students will write entries each week. The class will focus on the can-didates of the 2012 election, subjects in popular culture and hid-den voices where students will discuss important issues in today’s society that they feel do not receive sufficient media attention.

“Blogging is a combination between verbal lecturing and social media,” said Communication Criticism professor, Dr. Jane Elmes-Crahall. “We are designing the blog so that students can gain a distinct view of today’s current culture and they can share those opinions online.”

The class was divided into three groups based on their interest in the three subject issues. The blog will serve as a forum for students to voice their opinions and author their own articles. Students will also have the opportunity to delve deeper into some of today’s most important issues. The

students who chose to blog about hid-den voices will be able to choose a topic of interest and expose an issue they feel is necessary.

“By writing for the hidden voices section of the class blog I will be able to empha-size the importance of smaller issues that deserve more media attention,” said senior Mike Hartsough.

In preparation for writing blog entries, the class carried out back¬ground research. Each member of the class found a current blog online that related to their particular category and performed a critical analysis of the blog. Students looked at the subject of the blog, the tone it was written in and how effective the blog was in exposing an issue. By reading already exist¬ing blogs, students found that there is a great deal of freedom involved in blog writing. Tradi-

tional blog entries would read approxi-mately 250-350 words where most blogs today resemble news articles in length.

It is now up to the students of COM 300 to forge their own path as they begin voicing opinions in their own blog. With the free-dom to select a topic of choice, students will be able to take an active role in this blogging experience.

Sophomore Justin Franiak is looking forward to this new opportunity, as he will write for the popular culture section of the blog. “I am hoping to gain some exposure in blog¬ging while learning more about issues in our cur-

rent so¬ciety,” said Franiak. In his group, students will examine issues from celebrity news to current news events and gain a perspective on them while sharing their thoughts in various entries.

Students in COM 300 will walk away with not only new perspectives on important and relevant issues, but also a great insight into the world of blogging, which is rapidly becoming popular.

Communication Criticism Class Starts Blog

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