November 6, 2006

PERRYSBURG, Ohio- On October 7, 2006, five students from Wittenberg presented at the Ohio Communication Association’s Annual Conference.  Their presentations were based off of their reports completed in their Television Criticism classes from last semester.

The Ohio Communication Association Conference (OCA) is an annual event in which students, educators, and scholars assemble in order to share ideas and research and gain insight into the field of Communication.  They also honor many individuals from across the state who have made contributions to the field throughout the year.

The conference, which was held at the Holiday Inn in Perrysburg, Ohio, lasted from 7:30 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. on October 7th.  Along with Television Criticism, some of the topics that were covered dealt with Social Marketing Campaigns, Communication and Religion, and Political Communication.  The top Undergraduate and Graduate papers were recognized as well as Wittenberg’s own graduate Laura Russell (’04) being awarded the OCA Distinguished Graduate Award.

Melissa Crosby, Katie Karsnak, Abby Hurt, Ashley Petersen, and Josh Cohick were the five seniors who had the opportunity to present at the conference.  Before the conference, a few of them were a bit nervous about their presentations, having to deliver them to some of the greatest minds of the communication field.  Cohick joked, “I mean, here I am, at some big academic conference, and I'm talking about an animated show like Family Guy.  Interpersonal relationships, media coverage of natural disasters, and . . . Family Guy?  It still makes me laugh that my academic ‘debut’ focused on a show filled with obscenities and complete randomness.”

But once they began, they realized it was a very relaxed environment and the audience really was interested in what college students had to say.  “We came to realize that it was a very intimate, welcoming, and supportive atmosphere, and our panel was very well received.  Everyone seemed really interested in what we had to say, and it made us proud that we had done it.  We all agreed that it was like one of those rides you're afraid to go on, but once you get through it, you just want to do it again,” said Crosby.  Her paper was titled "Lessons from The Simpsons, the Social Roles of Springfield."  She used the social roles analysis method to see how The Simpsons used different social roles to demonstrate an "omnipopulace," a population that can represent both no one and everyone, thus giving everyone who watches the show at least one character to whom they can relate and use as an example of how to live.

Hurt agreed with Crosby and added that, “it was actually quite liberating and refreshing being surrounded by people who love to study what I love to study.”  She presented on "A Dichotomy: Gender Ideology in Dawson's Creek" and thought the best part of the conference was the satisfaction she received seeing others that were interested in what she had to say.

All five seniors attribute a lot of their success to Dr. Smith and his help in preparing them for the conference.  “From day one, Dr. Smith always had confidence in us, and it showed throughout the process.  While he told us what to expect, and gave us pointers along the way, he really let us develop our own style and approach to the conference setting that, I think, took away some of the nerves,” said Cohick.

The conference also provided the students to explore other aspects of communication and listen to other speakers.  Cohick, an editor for The Torch, found a presentation on print media interesting and gave him some valuable insight into his future as well.  His favorite part of the conference was just the sheer variety of topics being presented at the conference.

Petersen, as well as her fellow peers, were just thankful for the overall experience.  She added, “It was amazing to be talking about something that I am interested in on a non-academic level in an academic environment and actually being taken seriously.  I feel as though going to the conference really gave me a sense of how important communication studies is; it has a lot of value and is interesting all at the same time.”