Students’ work serves as centerpiece of a global discussion at a recent communication conference
By Samantha Thomson ’09 (Communications and Media)
Public Affairs Intern
The college was well represented by eight students at the 67th Annual Conference of the New York State Communication Association held in Ellenville from Oct. 23-25.
The conference, “Ritual, Community and Technology in this New Century: A Global Discussion in New York State,” included faculty from dozens of New York universities, including Columbia and New York University, as well as faculty from all over the world including researchers from the University of Lisbon in Portugal.
Donna Flayhan (Communication and Media) organized this year’s conference.
Six New Paltz students in Flayhan’s fall 2009 Advanced Public Relations class displayed work from their semester-length campaign projects, in which they promoted small businesses. International students from the college made a strong showing in the poster session. They are:
• Malorie Ginsberg ’11 (Journalism, Public Relations) presented her work on the band When All Else Fails;
• Sean Haberkorn ’11 (Journalism, Public Relations) presented his work on Gourmet Pizza;
• Jelena Ilijevska ’09 (Journalism, Public Relations) of Macedonia presented her work on Radiance Day Spa;
• Brianna Lee ’10 (Journalism, Public Relations) presented her work on Sowa Dry Cleaning and Laundry;
• Lilien Sokolova ’09 (Speech Communication) of Macedonia presented her work on The Village Tea Room and Bake Shop;
• Samantha Thomson ’09 (Communication and Media) of Australia presented her work on Kyogle Plumbing Services and Supplies.
Additionally, four students presented research papers that were written for Mary Kahl’s (Communication and Media) spring 2009 Theories of Persuasion course. They are:
• Nicole Famulare ’10 (Communication and Media) shared “Garnering Support for the Child Victim’s Act: A Persuasive Campaign to Eliminate the Statute of Limitations on Child Sexual Abuse”;
• Colomba Fronda ’10 (Journalism, Public Relations, Visual Arts) presented “Abolishing Abstinence-Only Sex Education in New York State: Answering a Rhetorical and Reproductive Crisis”;
• Brianna Lee ’10 (Communication and Media) presented “Knowing Your Rights Regarding Search and Seizure: A Campaign for College Students.”
• Erin O’Connor ’10 (Communication and Media) shared her paper, “Increasing Collegiate Enrollment Rates Among Hispanic Males: A State-Wide Campaign”;
“It was wonderful to be able to include so many New Paltz students at this international conference,” said Flayhan, who along with Kahl, paid the students’ registration fees, so that money would not be a barrier to student participation.
The college was also represented in other ways. New Paltz’s new a cappella group Male Call opened the Saturday evening music and the official photographer for the conference was student Colomba Fronda.
Tags: Communication and Media, conference, New York State Communication Association, student participation
