The Patriot

Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Matt McColl Left to right, Student Media Association Adviser Maria Lundberg, member Tim Herb, President Ashley Dingle and member Chelsea Brown examine the SMA charter.

After a brief hiatus, the Student Media Association (SMA) is back in action and looking for students with an interest in mass communication to join their ranks.

The organization is run by students and is open to any student who's interested, although most of its members are mass communication majors.

"Even though it really is directed at mass communication majors, anyone who thinks they might be interested in minoring in mass communication or even anybody who has an interest in media and wants to come (is welcome)," said Maria Lundberg, SMA adviser and assistant professor of mass communication. "We'd love to have any and all students."

Senior and SMA President Ashley Dingle said the organization helps students network.

"Our main purpose is to form a network of students and professionals where they can work together and learn more about the mass communication field," Dingle said. "If students are curious about changing their majors or just want to try a little studio work, they have the opportunity to do that through this club."

Senior and SMA?Treasurer Charles Rogers hopes to meet people through the organization.

"My reason for joining is to get the networking experience," Rogers said. "You'll meet different people in different areas that will hopefully get your foot in the door and your career started off right."

Lundberg said SMA can help both in and out of school.

"It compliments what we're doing in our class work... for example, if you're talking about different ways producers approach newscasts," Lundberg said. "Then, if you have someone who comes and talks to the students who's a news producer, it gives them that opportunity to have one-on-one contact and really interview somebody who's out there doing it everyday."

Members are planning events for the end of the semester, junior and Vice President Anna Howard said.

"We have the communiqué, which we did last spring..." she said. "And we're trying to do a red carpet affair, which is new, where we honor the best students from each field who are graduating."

The association briefly was inactive because of personnel changes, but former members are glad to see it back.

"I was actually active my first year at FMU and I was involved the whole year," Howard said. "I'm glad to be finally back on board with it."

Also helping them to get back in action was a recent $500 anonymous donation given to help fund upcoming activities, Dingle said.

"This donation has really given us a boost of encouragement to continue on with the events we have planned for the rest of the semester," she said.

Instructor of speech communication James Christian thinks the organization has strong leadership.

"Once it gets rolling again, it'll grow," he said. "They have good officers elected - everyone's energetic. I think its going to become a viable organization again."

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