Welcome to comm·unity, the biannual newsletter reporting on new and exciting developments in the communication department! We are so thrilled to be back in person this semester to experience the things that make our community so great. From seeing the smiling faces of our students and faculty to engaging in class and collaborating in clubs, read on for what our community has been up to this semester.
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What a difference a year makes.
Last year, I was writing about finishing our classes remotely after the Thanksgiving break. Vaccines were not available yet, and the country was gripped with a third wave of COVID-19 outbreaks, its worst yet. We were coming to the realization that the COVID semester was to become a COVID year, and hopes for a return to normalcy faded.
Just a year later, our classes are back in person, events are filling the quad, and students are working with each other and their professors without being reminded that they are muted. Though the pandemic is by no means over, your help with mitigation efforts has helped us reduce its effects on campus. We also are adjusting to holding more activities outdoors, wearing masks indoors while in groups, and continuing to hold some events virtually. Lessons learned during the pandemic may change some aspects of how we live and work forever. More businesses are embracing hybrid work arrangements and virtual events as they come to the realization that a model created during the industrial era may not be entirely appropriate for knowledge workers. We also have learned that our work should not come at the expense of our health, and in what has been labeled as The Great Resignation, more people are choosing work that better fits their lives.
We also have undergone some changes in the COMM department. Our administrative assistant Kaitlin Scheie has left to spend more time with her family, and we are pleased to welcome Melissa Cerezo into that role. Melissa joins us after many years in the Biology department, so she is very familiar with the college and can help you navigate its bureaucracy. Our Coordinator of Media Technology Bob Coleman retired in September after a long and distinguished career in education, but he continues to be a part of our department as the instructor of our Digital Print Design course. We hope to have a new coordinator in place for the Spring semester. After reopening our office after the pandemic year, I am happy that we finally have our facilities open five evenings per week for students to use.
Despite the challenges we face, our students continue to excel and prepare for careers in media and communication. This past May we graduated our first student from our Sports Media Production concentration, and he was hired immediately by the NBA. Over the summer, students participated in internships and fellowships at Disney/ABC, CBS Sports, the Emmys, and MSG Networks, among many other places. This fall, while many internships continue to operate in remote mode, more are returning to in-person experiences, with the promise of more doing so in the spring. WRCM reopened its street-level studio this fall, and MCTV is back in the TV Studio producing Manhattan Minute, The Quadcast, and The Quad Rewind. The Manhattan College chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association’s honor society, inducted its newest class on December 3rd, and three PRSSA students virtually attended the ICON 2021 Conference.
I am so proud of the resilience of our students and alumni as we have adjusted to new conditions and prepare for new futures. As always, my door is open to you to help you through these changes, and I always love to hear about your successes as well as challenges. Please share your congratulations to your fellow students’ accomplishments by subscribing to and engaging with @MCCOMMDEPT on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. I wish everyone success for a strong Fall finish and offer hopes for an even brighter Spring semester.
Dr. Michael Grabowski
Chair, Communication Department
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by Jana Clark
Welcome back, Jaspers! After a year of remote and hybrid learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Manhattan College has welcomed students, staff and faculty back to campus for the 2021-22 school year. With the return to campus, life has slowly been going back to normal. Freshmen who never got to experience their first year on campus now are able to participate in in-person events, meet their
professors face-to-face and get the true
college experience that they deserve.
Upperclassmen are also excited to be back.
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Introducing Lambda Pi Eta's New Inductees |
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by Calista Baker
Lambda Pi Eta is Manhattan College’s chapter of the Communication honor society. This honor society recognizes both academic excellence and dedication to the field of communication. The name Lambda Pi Eta is represented by the Greek letters L (lambda), P (pi), and H (eta) symbolizing what Aristotle described in his book, Rhetoric, as the three modes of persuasion: Logos meaning log- ic, Pathos relating to emotion, and Ethos defined as character credibility and ethics.
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Sports Media Production Adds New Sports to Production Schedule with ESPN+ |
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by Timmy Kwong
This semester, the Communication Department’s sports media production team is expanding their coverage areas beyond the basketball court to broadcast other Manhattan College Division I sports games, including softball, lacrosse, and soccer, as part of their partnership with ESPN+.
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Budget Cuts Impact The Quadrangle
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by Caroline Bart
Although 2020 was a year like no other, Manhattan College is back in full swing for the Fall 2021 semester. A mask mandate in place has not stopped the college from trying to deliver a ‘normal’ college experience once again. However, some communication clubs are facing setbacks. The student newspaper, The Quadrangle, specifically has faced budget cuts that were quite the blow.
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Confronting Facebook at the Alfred Korzybski
Memorial Lecture
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by Christine Nappi
In a time of whistle-blowers and misinformation, communicating the impacts Facebook has on the population is now a more crucial task than ever. This was the topic of Siva Vaidhyanathan’s talk titled, “Making Meaning Through Facebook: A Semantic and Visual Culture Tour Through Social Media,” at the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture on October 1. The talk was held in conjunction with the Institute of General Semantics at The Players Club in New York City.
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MCTV Welcomes New Shows! |
by Christine Nappi
Grab your popcorn! Manhattan College TV is adding new shows to their repertoire. Whether it be sports, comedy, reality, or simply illustrating the booming return of campus life, the media production club members are eager to expand their programming this semester.
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MCPRSSA Members Attend ICON |
by Christina Rella
In October, two members of Manhattan College’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter were sponsored by Student Government and Student Engagement to attend the international conference for the Public Relations Society of America, “ICON.” Like last year, the conference was held virtually.
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Meet the 2021 Quadrangle Scholarship Recipients |
by Maddie Johnson
Every year, Manhattan College’s publications committee, one of the standing committees, accepts five new students as recipients of The Quadrangle Scholarship. Get to know this year's newest class: Isaiah Rosario, Karen Flores, Mack Olmsted, Josh Grewal, and Angelina Persaud!
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Bob Coleman, The "Will Rogers" of the Communication Department, Retires
by Jilleen Barrett
This semester, the communication department lost one of its original members. Coordinator of media technology and adjunct professor Robert Coleman — better known as Bob — retired September 1.
Bob was one of the few people in a newly instituted communication department at Manhattan College when he was hired by Thom Gencarelli, the founding chair. Bob previously worked at College of Mount Saint Vincent, which had a partnership with Manhattan College so students could study communication before it was offered as a major here.
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Saying Goodbye to Administrative Assistant Kaitlin Scheie and Welcoming Melissa Cerezo!
by Jilleen Barrett
This semester, the communication department office said goodbye to Kaitlin Scheie, who served as the administrative assistant in the department for eight years. Now when you walk into the communication department’s suite of offices in Leo Hall, you will be greeted by Melissa Cerezo, the newest member of the office.
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A Note From Christine and Jilleen |
Thank you for reading our Fall 2021 newsletter! We are so thrilled to share all the exciting updates going on in the department, and can't thank our students and faculty enough for helping this newsletter come to fruition! Working on this newsletter, while challenging at times, has shown us what makes this department so special: the community. This community is always there to support you and celebrate your successes. Whether it be cheering you on at your LPH induction, rallying with you when you face setbacks, giving you hands-on industry experience, supporting you when you change career paths, and to welcoming you with open arms, this department always has your back. This newsletter, while a way to check in on the happenings of the department, is truly a testament to the amazing, supportive, and hard-working people that we are fortunate enough to work with and learn from. Thank you for being the reason why this community is so great!
Christine Nappi & Jilleen Barrett
Editor-in-Chief & Assistant Editor
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Follow the COMM Club Social Media! |
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Engage with Fellow COMM Students |
Be sure to follow the department's accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @mccommdept for updates and information on events and happenings within the department. Also follow the accounts of the student clubs listed below.
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Editors
Editor-in-Chief: Christine Nappi
Assistant Editor: Jilleen Barrett
Faculty Advisor: Arshia Anwer
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