Corporate communications professor Vanessa Beasley can hardlywait for this summer’s Democratic and Republican Nationalconventions.
“This is a once in a lifetime chance to see theintersection between media and politics,” Beasleysaid.
Journalism and CCPA majors and minors will get that chance asSMU will offer four courses this summer providing the opportunityto attend the 2004 Democratic and Republican National Conventionsin Boston and New York City.
Students will not attend the actual summer school session butwill spend a week at one of the conventions.
For journalism students, CCJN 5302 allows eight students toattend the Democratic National Convention in Boston on July 26-29,and CCJN 5301 allows eight students to attend the RepublicanNational Convention in New York City from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.
“The Dallas Morning News has agreed to use ourstudents as part-time employees so that they can see how an actualnews bureau works,” said Carolyn Barta, journalism professorand contributing writer to The Dallas Morning News.
“This is just another example of the BeloCorporation’s cooperative efforts to make SMU’sjournalism program one of the leading programs in thenation,” Barta said. While at each convention, students willbe working for The Dallas Morning News Bureau, which will belocated within the media row of the convention. Students willanswer phones, monitor wire services, research and perform anyother tasks required by the bureau.
The selected students also will write stories for publicationwith The Daily Campus, a hometown newspaper or any otherwriting venue. At the convention, broadcast students will work on adocumentary for SMU-TV.
The cost for the journalism program will include full tuitionfor one summer school class, a roundtrip plane ticket to theconvention, and money for food and incidentals. The DallasMorning News will pay for all hotel accommodations and provideeach student with limited access credentials into the conventionmedia area.
All students interested in applying through the journalismdepartment are required to apply by 5 p.m. on Friday to LisaGoodson in Umphrey Lee 280. Preference will be given to studentscurrently taking CCJN 4345, Media and Politics. The cost for theCCPA trip to the conventions will include tuition, transportation,food and incidentals plus room and board at a discounted,educational rate.
“Currently people bemoan the democracy of people in theU.S., and even though there is a lot about the convention that isstaged, it is still one of the best settings to witness democracyin action,” Beasley said.
Sixteen students will be working at the Republican NationalConvention with the Republican National Committee on officialproceedings. At the Democratic National Convention, 16 studentswill be working in media relations with a major news outlet.
Students will begin their mornings with breakfast and earlyseminars before leaving for the convention. The students will thenwork 10- to 14-hour days at the convention, into the televisedportion of the night.
To receive three hours of CCPA credit, students must completethe 200-300 page assigned readings prior to the week of convention,attend on-site seminars conducted by the supervising professor, aswell as write one 20- to 25-page ethnographic paper on theirexperience and the relativity to the advanced readings.
“Don’t necessarily assume this week is going to beeasy. This will probably be the most intense credit you have everearned in college,” Beasley said.
Also accompanying CCPA students will be Dr. Rita Whillock,chairman of the CCPA department.
“This program is focused on two types of students —those who want to practice politics in the future and those whojust want to be good American citizens,” said Whillock.
