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Communication Studies

Mock trial ‘A’ team heads to D.C.

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mock-trial 1-300x225UP’s mock trial “A” team will travel to Washington, D.C. in late March to compete in the American Mock Trial Association’s Opening Round Championship Series after placing third in the Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament in Corvallis, Ore. last weekend.

The “A” team won seven out of eight trials over the course of the weekend-long tournament, a record for them. They also received five individual awards, including seniors Lyndsey Tsuruda, Amanda Danforth and Eileen Kannengeiser for Outstanding Witness, and Danforth and Kannengeiser again for Outstanding Attorney. The “B” team won three and lost five trials at the same tournament.

Kathya Acuña, an assistant coach for the mock trial team, is proud of the work both teams accomplished at the tournament and this season.

“We’ve restructured the team to be a lot more competitive,” Acuña said. “The way it’s structured now, it gives the students more room to push themselves to be better and the team has done extremely well.”

UP’s mock trial teams competed against 10 other universities from the area, including Gonzaga, University of Washington and Stanford. Senior Susie Sprinson, a member of the “A” team, said it was a tough competition but their hard work is paying off.

“We just practice a lot and it showed,” Sprinson said. “I think this was the first time we’ve had a group of people on the ‘A’ team who are very dedicated to having the same goals in the competition, and that helped to bring us together and work hard over the weekend.”

The “A” team’s high placement in the Pacific Northwest Regional allowed it to advance to the Opening Round Championship Series. Different opening round series take place around the country, and the top teams from each opening round series will advance to the National Championship Tournament in Orlando, Fla. in April.

The “A” team was originally supposed to attend the Opening Round Championship Series in Newport Beach, Calif., but the team requested to attend the opening round series in Washington, D.C. because it will give them more time to prepare. Otherwise, the team would only have two weeks to prepare to compete at the national level.

Acuña said this preparation time is crucial because the case they’ve been studying all season changes at the national level. This year’s case, which involved large-scale ticket fraud in an amusement park, was originally interpreted as a robbery case, but now it has changed to a murder case.

“Newport is the first round of opening round championships, and Corvallis was one of the last regional competitions, so it gave us a short turnaround to prepare for the national level,” Acuña said. “We would have been at a disadvantage.”

Competing in Washington, D.C. will expose the “A” team to different teams and judges than they have previously encountered. According to Acuña, many of these teams, like Rutgers and Princeton, have different styles of coaching and argument that UP’s team will have to adjust to.

“They’re very intense programs that have a very high caliber,” she said. “It’s not necessarily something to worry about, but our students will need to devote full time to preparing.”

The Opening Round Championship Series will take place in Washington, D.C. on March 22-23, hosted by the University of Virginia.

Sourced from Beacon

Simmons to leave UP for alma mater

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Upon walking into the classroom on the first day of the semester, students in Brian Simmons’ communication studies classes are invited to kick back, relax and settle into the living room, but come the end of the semester, this living room will close. Simmons, a well-loved professor, will be leaving UP at the end of the school year to join the communication studies department at his alma mater, Oklahoma Christian University.

Simmons has been a part of UP’s community for the past five years, following the closure of Cascade College where he taught for 15 years. Students and colleagues say he will be well missed, but well wished.

“I remember getting there the first day of class and I knew I had picked the right major because he was so enthusiastic about what he was doing,” freshman Danny McGarry said.

After taking three of Simmons’ classes, McGarry looks at professors at UP in a new light.

“Him wanting to teach us so much had a huge impact on my view of professors in general,” McGarry said.

Simmons’ passion for what he teaches shines through his lectures, which cover everything from how to discern what flirting is to the value of understanding other cultures’ ways of interacting.

“As a teacher, Brian is very competent, very engaging, very passionate and truly believes that what we are learning has value for our lives,” sophomore Nathan Seppi said. “He’s just a fun guy to learn from.”

Communication studies Department Chair Jeff Kerssen-Griep has enjoyed working with Simmons during his time at UP.

“We’ve really benefitted from him being here,” Kerssen-Griep said. “Both as a person and a teacher he’s really admirable (and) someone to look up to.”

Simmons is known best for creating a “living room environment” where students are invited to relax, freely share their thoughts, ask questions and address Simmons as a peer instead of an authoritative figure. Simmons has enjoyed bonding with all of his students.

“Three years ago I was telling my class how much I love Taco Bell,” Simmons said. “I walked into class one day with about 50 chalupas and fed all of my students.”

The choice to leave UP has been a difficult one for Simmons, who along with teaching intro to communication, interpersonal communication, communication law and public speaking courses, is an adviser to the speech and debate team. Under his coaching, the team is ranked seventh in its division.

“I love it here,” Simmons said. “I love the classes I teach. I love the college students I work with. Honestly I feel guilty, like I’m abandoning my students, like I’m letting them down.”

Simmons’ decision to take a teaching job in Oklahoma came down to the job security it would provide for him and his family.

“They approached me about teaching for them,” Simmons said. “They have actually approached me essentially every year since I’ve been working here, and I kept telling them no. But they made an offer that I couldn’t refuse that gives me more job security in the long term than I have at University of Portland.”

Simmons will begin instructing at Oklahoma in the fall as a professor, teaching lower and upper division communication classes at the university, as well as working with their honors students.

Looking back at his time spent at UP, Simmons will miss the sense of community and place the most.

“My students and the people I work with have accepted me, liked me, and shared their lives with me,” Simmons said. “I have to start all over again from scratch. I know how things work and where things stand. When I came here I didn’t know anyone on this campus. So for five years I’ve created a sense of place. And (when I leave), it’ll evaporate.”

Sourced from Beacon

Communication professionals discuss life after graduating with a communication studies degree

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UP students work hard toward a variety of future plans.
UP students work hard toward a variety of future plans.

When I told my parents that I was going to be a communication studies major, they asked a question that I would imagine some of my fellow communication studies majors have also hailed: “What will you do with that degree once you graduate?” On the evening of February 5th, University of Portland’s Communication Honors Society, Lambda Eta Pi, and the Office of Career Services sponsored a panel of UP communication studies alumni, who came with answers to this question and to speak with students about their careers in the field of communication.

The panelists were Alysse Kerr, Class of ʽ10 and Training & Communication Coordinator at Mercy Corps Northwest; Alex Kirk, Class of ʽ09 and Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Clark College; Kaeti Namba, Class of ʽ12 and Grant & Communication Coordinator at NAYA Family Center; and Chelsea Hossaini, Class of ʽ10 and NW Region Communications Manager at Intel; all of whom graduated from UP within the last five years. There were a wide variety of career paths amongst these professionals and each expressed passion, both explicitly and implicitly, for their work.

“Showing passion and commitment is a really big deal,” Namba said.

More than anything, the panelists stressed the fact that the University of Portland really prepared each of them for their careers and encouraged students to take full advantage of classes, professors, and other UP resources with this in mind. They cited skills like understanding research methods, group work, and public speaking as learning gained through UP that is now intrinsic to their everyday, professional lives.

 

Caption: UP students work hard toward a variety of future paths.

Namba was a graduate student at UP and said that she took a liking to the professors in the communication studies department during her time here. “The words that they say actually transcend into life lessons,” Namba said.

Internships and networking were other focuses of the evening.

“My internships were the best thing that could have ever happened to me… Tell people like a broken record what you want to do, let them know you’re excited,” Hossaini said.

University of Portland’s Office of Career Services works with students to find and attain internships. The panelists also suggested doing informational interviews as a way of networking and opening doors to possible career opportunities.

“Two things that helped me were: 1. Networking. The majority of people like talking about themselves, so ask for informational interviews; 2. When you do an interview, do a lot of work beforehand and then go into an interview and just relax,” Kirk said.

Students were left with some encouraging words, as the panelists reminded them that when a student or recent graduate goes into a job interview, they are, in fact, worth something to that company.

“Be picky about who you work for!” Kerr said, “They better be awesome people that you enjoy working for and can trust.”

Story by Clare Duffy

Communication Students Give Out Roses and Chocolates for Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day on the Bluff came one day early yesterday as three senior Organizational Communication students, lead by Rohan Innis, decided to give out some gifts to their school community.

The university is proud of its students, especially when they go out of their way to perform acts of kindness and spread a little happiness and joy.

Rohan Innis is part of a YouTube film team called NoBalancefilmworks and saw this as more than just a video for their channel. “I just thought it would be nice to spread some love around my campus,” Innis said, “This is a great school and it’s been very good to me. I just want to show a little love.”

The camera man for the day was Senior An Nguyen, who says,”The project was a little bit different than the stuff that we usually do. It was great to see how happy all of those people were! The other guys and I definitely want to start doing some more projects like this.”

Film team member Terran Benedict says, “the whole idea was meant to be a little humorous and lighthearted but really we have a lot of love for our school and this video shows it.”

The young men sought out a forth perspective from their friend Vanny Chao, who is studying Biology here at the University. “We needed a female’s perspective,” said Nguyen, “she helped us a lot with the approach.”

Rohan received a lot of hugs and praise from students, faculty and staff on campus yesterday.

After passing out over two dozen roses, Rohan was all smiles as he says, “Words can’t describe how pleased I am. Saw a lot of smiling faces today. Can’t ask for more then that!”

You can see more from these young film makers on their comedy sketch channel on YouTube at www.youtube.com/nobalancefilmworks

U. of P. Speech and Debate Union’s Performance Earns No. 7 Ranking

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The University of Portland Speech and Debate Union’s performance at competitions this year has earned the program a No. 7 ranking among all universities in its division in the six-state Western region of the United States, according to team coach and advisor Brian Simmons, communication studies. This ranking, Simmons is proud to point out, is higher than many larger, public institutions including Portland State, Montana State, Utah State, Humboldt State, and other private institutions including Seattle University, Reed College, and George Fox University.

Speech & Debate Union Results

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The University of Portland’s Speech and Debate Union competed last weekend at the Fred Scheller Memorial Speech and Debate Tournament at Pacific University, according to Brian Simmons, communication studies. Congratulations are due to the following students on their impressive accomplishments at that speech and debate tournament:

Patrick Dolan (FR, biochemistry) finished in the top 10 and earned the 7th Best Speaker overall in the Novice division.

Lakshmi Diener (FR, communication studies) finished in the top 10 and earned the 1st Best Speaker overall in the Novice division.

Chelsea Roberts (JR, communication studies) finished in the top 15 and earned the 11th Best Speaker overall in the Junior division.

John Russell (SR, civil engineering) finished in the top 4 and earned the 10th best Speaker overall in the Open division).

For more information contact Simmons at 8025 or simmonsb@up.edu.

Conversation on Prisons, Nov. 21

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From UP Beat

VVail Fletcher, Communication Studiesail Fletcher and her communication studies students received a competitive Oregon Humanities Conversation Starter Project grant to host a program titled, “Beyond Bars: Rethinking Our Reliance on Prisons” on Thursday, November 21, 7-9 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons. It will be an interactive conversation focused on considering the following questions: What role do prisons serve in our country? Is it possible to envision a world where people are safe and secure, and where there is accountability, without prisons? Does our prison system, in some cases, actually cause rather than reduce crime? The event is sponsored in part by the Garaventa Center, the Department of Social Justice, the Department of Political Science, and the Department of Communication Studies. The event will be immediately followed by a dessert reception. All community members are welcome. Please contact Fletcher at fletcher@up.edu with any questions and/or if you plan on bringing your class.

Students visit Edelman PR

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Seven students from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Pamplin School of Business visited Edelman PR firm on Friday, April 19th in downtown Portland.  A panel of Edelman public relations professionals shared insights about the agency (voted the #1 privately held PR firm and one of the 100 best companies to work for in Oregon), the different facets of today’s public relations industry as well as qualities that make a great intern.  Students also learned that one of the major benefits of working in a smaller big agency office is greater diversification in experience!

Students (left to right): Matthew Langer, Christina Tenorio, Nastacia Voisin, Julia Kennedy, Bruce Garlinghouse, Gilbert Resendez, Caroline Lai

This visit was arranged by UP’s Career Services in partnership with Communication Studies, English and the Pamplin School of Business.

John Orr Lecture

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From UPBEAT

John Orr will present a lecture,“Scenes of Reading, Sites of Contest: Listening to Henry Adams’s Marginalia,” as part of the Communication Studies Colloquium Series, on Wednesday, March 27, from noon to 1 p.m., in Shiley Hall room 206. His talk is free and open faculty, staff, students, and the public.

Orr’s scholarly interests reside in late 19th and early 20th-century American literature and culture, including ongoing work on Henry Adams, several women writers of the era and, most recently, the early Native American writer, Mourning Dove. His talk will describe his work combing through Henry Adams’s personal library at the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, in search of marginal comments Adams wrote in his books. Light snacks will be served and attendees are invited to bring their lunches.

For more information contact C.Vail Fletcher, communication studies, at 503-943-7351 or fletcher@up.edu.

Brian Simmons Presentation

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Brian Simmons (Communication Studies) delivered a presentation to the annual conference of the National Christian Schools Association titled “Falling Away From Religious Faith: What’s Happening, What Helps, and What Doesn’t in the Retention of Young Adults.” The presentation was based on his book Wandering in the Wilderness: Changes and Challenges in Emerging Adults’ Christian Faith.

 

Click here to order Brian’s book.