Adjusting to a New Normal
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Welcome to COMMunity, the biannual newsletter reporting on new and exciting developments in our department. Although this semester took a strange turn amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the department's been hard at work to do its best for its even harder working students. Read on for what we've all been up to!
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I write this from my home instead of the Communication Department office, waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to subside. The virus interrupted our semester just as we were diving into our core projects: our public relations, advertising, and integrated marketing communications students were developing their campaigns and media plans, our journalism students were researching and writing up their feature stories, our media production students were preparing to shoot their short films and television programs, and our sports media production students were wrapping up their first successful season of broadcasting live Jaspers basketball. All those plans changed on March 9, when the college announced classes for the semester would be completed online. Soon thereafter, the Governor of New York banned non-essential travel and ordered non-essential employees to work from home.
Since then, we have adjusted to seeing each other on Google Meet and sharing assignments in Moodle. We have moved out of the dorms and (for those fortunate enough) back into our families’ homes. We have had internships abruptly end or continue remotely. We have had to suspend activities and events, like our student-alumni networking night, and our students will not be able to present their research at the Eastern Communication Association convention in Baltimore like they planned. We will celebrate our graduating seniors virtually instead of in An Beal Bocht, and our Commencement is postponed until it is safe to gather together again.
However, these losses pale in comparison to the suffering the pandemic has caused. Many members of our families suddenly have lost their jobs, and some members of our community have lost loved ones who have succumbed to the virus. Before this is over, many of us will contract the virus, and we all will know someone who has died from it.
While the pandemic has put our affairs into perspective, it also has made clear how important communication is to our lives. The correct information can save lives. Misinformation can jeopardize them. The age of social media shows how this new medium can help or hurt us. Local governments have been able to provide updates quickly through live streams and frequent posts, but rumors, propaganda, and outright misinformation also travel at light speed. Stopping people from sharing misleading posts is like playing a game of whack-a-mole, and the glut of bad information drowns out critically needed messages needed to fight the virus’ spread.
As important communication is to sharing information, it also serves to connect us. The pain of being physically isolated from our colleagues, friends, and family reveals just how central communication is to our lives. We are social animals, and communication binds us to one another, helps to form our identity, and builds our culture. Our desire to help one another, to learn, to grow, to enjoy each other’s company, to make art, to make each other laugh and cry, shows us what we live for. We can use the skills we have learned here to help people survive and make life worth living.
Many experts have predicted that the communication, news, and entertainment industries will be forever changed by this event. One thing that will not change, however, is the need to communicate. Organizations still will need media plans, news and entertainment outlets still will need stories to inform and entertain, and readers still will need quality information to make better decisions as citizens and consumers. How these industries reinvent themselves as they rebound will depend on you, your ethics, and your motivation to make stories that help people.
Despite our physical isolation, we celebrate your accomplishments, from our Lambda Pi Eta National Communication Association honor society inductees to the six Communication majors inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest honor society. We celebrate our graduating seniors now virtually and soon in person. We celebrate the work you have done and the goals you have set for yourselves. This pandemic will end, but our need for communication will live on. Whether you are graduating and moving on or returning to the department in fall, we will continue to rely on you to share good information and build our COMMunity.
Best wishes for our future,
Dr. Michael Grabowski
Chair
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Sports Media Production Students Broadcast Basketball Games
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by Cristian Forletta
This past fall and current spring semester, Sports Media Production students had the exceptional opportunity of being part of the ESPN production crew in broadcasting all 27 of men’s and women’s basketball games. Led by producer/director Joe Ruggiero and visiting associate professor Michael Quinn, students were able to gain firsthand experience at what goes into the process of streaming intercollegiate athletic events.
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Brittany O'Malley Accepted to ECA 2020
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by Scarlett Sperduto
This year, senior Brittany O’Malley was accepted to present at the Eastern Communication Association’s
James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference
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After completing her research in COMM 409: Senior Seminar, she submitted her paper to ECA’s undergraduate scholar’s conference, and was accepted to present at the conference in Baltimore in April. Unfortunately, the conference had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Virtual Reality in the Communication Department
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by Abby Crowell
The Communication Department offered a special topics virtual reality class during spring 2020 for the first time. This unique and experimental course titled ‘VR: Perception, Production, Possibilities’ was developed by Michael Grabowski and Laura Meoli Ferrigon, two of Manhattan College’s most technologically savvy personnel.
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Deirdre Heavey '21 Spends a Semester Abroad in Spain
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Junior Deirdre Heavey, a Communication major with a concentration in Journalism, studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain this semester. She was a student at the University of Abat Oliba CEU, a LaSallian University with a large international student program.
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Department Hosts Alumni Events
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by Madalyn Johnson
In the past year, the communication department has hosted numerous alumni events to give current students the chance to get advice and network with recent graduates. Last semester, Manhattan College’s Public Relations Student Society of America hosted an alumni panel that featured four former students who now hold jobs as public relations practitioners.
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Thomas Courtney: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
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by Alize Mejia
The communication department is known for the presence of its students in many impressive establishments. As the department continues to advance in producing better classes, concentrations, and alumni, current students’ success proceeds along with it. The hard work, motivation, and drive that each student portrays shows, and can be seen in the internship opportunities they carve out for themselves.
One student in particular who exudes these particular values is sophomore Thomas Courtney. Courtney is enrolled in the Sports Media Production concentration at the communication department, and has recently received the opportunity to be a part of the MAAC Men's and Women's Golf Championship at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
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Samantha Walla: Aperture Foundation, Special Events and Membership Intern
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by Katie Heneghan
The Aperture Foundation, a non-profit photography publisher, has provided junior Sam Walla with a unique opportunity synthesizing art, writing, and publishing. As an intern on the development team at Aperture, Walla focuses on communicating with members through various platforms and maintaining meaningful relationships.
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Gabriella Donahue: VPR NYC, Fashion PR Intern
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by Katie Heneghan
Gabriella Donahue, sophomore Communication major with a concentration in Public Relations, is doing a PR internship this semester. Her internship workplace, VPR NYC, is a boutique PR firm representing fashion, accessory, and tech clientele in Manhattan.
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Lauren Schuster: TV Guide Magazine, Editorial Intern
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by Katie Heneghan
In her final semester at Manhattan College, senior Lauren Schuster is gaining valuable experience as an Editorial Intern at TV Guide Magazine in NYC. Schuster is a senior Communication and English double major, with a concentration in Journalism. She is minoring in Women and Gender Studies.
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Alize Mejia: The Dr. Oz Show, Publicity Intern
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by Katie Heneghan
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"The Mac Lab" Undergoes Renovations
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Room 108 in Leo Hall, otherwise known as “The Mac Lab” is getting some major renovations in the upcoming months. This summer, sixteen new iMacs will be installed, each with a 27 inch retina display, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and 1 terabyte of solid state hard drive.
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Follow the COMM Club Social Media!
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Engage with Fellow COMM Students
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Be sure to follow the department's
accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @mccommdeptfor updates and information on events and happenings within the department. Also follow the accounts of the student clubs listed below.
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Correction:
The Fall 2019 issue incorrectly stated that Olivia Paladino was the sole founder of Lotus. Paladino is one of the co-founders, and the other is Melissa Gallardo.
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Editors
Editor-in-Chief: Sophia Sakellariou
Faculty Advisor: Arshia Anwer
Executive Director: Kaitlin Scheie
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