WTIU pitches in to help community

IU students are helping Bloomington children discover college through a unique shadowing program.\nCampus TV station WTIU's "The Friday Zone," a weekly program dedicated to helping children do activities they wouldn't normally do, has been broadcasting in the community since October 1999. \nJunior Jen Kraus and senior Shearron Walker took two young girls around school Nov. 7, and senior men's basketball player A.J. Moye taught kids from nearby community basketball teams how to succeed in both school and athletics.\n"The Friday Zone" is a half-hour talk show for kids taped in Bloomington. Nina Shelton, WTIU's producer of children's programming, said the show "challenges children to explore, investigate and experience the world around them."\nEvery week, different kids, ages 6 to 11, appear on the show ready to take part in that week's Friday Zone challenge. The challenges range from rock climbing to opening a savings account to starting a community newspaper.\nLast week's challenge was "Experience What it Takes to Go to College." Rachel Franke and Sarah Rohrshnider, both 9 years old, spent Friday shadowing Kraus and Walker.\nKraus, an IU tour guide, said she heard about "The Friday Zone" through an e-mail asking for someone to appear on the show. Walker knew about the show through telecommunications. \n"(It was) a new concept," Kraus said. "I knew when I was in elementary school I didn't know what high school was, let alone college."\nAfter saying goodbye to their parents, Franke and Rohrshnider went with Kraus to her professional writing class in Ballantine Hall.\n"Students were confused to see the girls (with backpacks) and a camera crew," Kraus said.\nAfter discussing the Web in class, the girls spoke to Mary Ellen Anderson, IU's director of admissions. Anderson offered them 10 steps kids can take now to prepare for college. These steps included reading regularly, learning math and joining a sports team or a club.\nThe girls then attended class with Walker, ate lunch at Kraus' sorority, Delta Gamma, and toured Walker's dorm room in Willkie Quad. Finally, they returned to the WTIU studio for a question-and-answer session.\n"I thought it was really neat," Kraus said. "I had never been exposed to TV. They re-record things and showed the whole day in 2-3 minutes."\n"The Friday Zone" brought Moye to share similar experiences. Moye, who initiated a reading program at Binford Elementary School in Bloomington, has dedicated his time to helping children.\nMoye played basketball with the kids, gave them advice on how to practice and stressed the importance of getting good grades.\n"(He told the kids) it's a waste of time to go for four years and not get an education." Shelton said.\n-- Contact staff writer Stephanie Susman at ssusman@indiana.edu.