Telecommunication students strive for voice in media merger

Student involvement has been minimal during the early phases of planning for the new Media School.

Although students in the IU School of Journalism — the only independent school included in what will be the Media School — have an active student advisory board created in October, students in the departments of telecommunications and communications and culture have not been a part of the discussion.

“I don’t think there’s ever been any reach out from the department on what students want from the new media school,” senior telecommunications student Bob Salek said.

Salek works for the department and said he may consider coming back to IU for graduate school in the future. Since it will be the new Media School by then, he is directly affected by the school’s planning.

“Having gone through the program already, I think that any student in my position would have a lot to say on the matter,” he said.

Salek also said while he’s heard there is a chair willing to talk to students, that form of outreach isn’t adequately advertised or used.

A lack of information has also been a problem for some telecommunications students.

Sophomore Erica Miller said she wasn’t aware of the Media School until she heard about it from other students.

Senior Lauren Rose said the lack of information bothered her.

“I’ve felt pretty ignored, but that’s just ‘cause I haven’t gotten any information about it,” she said.

Aside from a lack of information, a lack of understanding has created problems for some.

“It’s not that nobody’s asking students’ opinions, it’s just that nobody really understands why changes are being made,” junior Hugh Donkin said.

Salek said a lot of the information he received came from Robby Benson, professor of practice in the Department of Telecommunications.

Benson said he is blown away by how much administrators at this school care for students.

“In my 25 years of teaching, I have never been surrounded by chairs, deans and a provost who want to do the right thing for the students more than those here at IU,” Benson said.

Steven Watt, provost professor of English and the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, pointed out not everything can be done at once.

Watt created a committee of graduate students, four from each department, in the Media School.

“They all can’t start at the same time with the same degree of attention,” Watt said.

Lesa Hatley Major, interim dean of the School of Journalism and associate dean of the Media School, said she is trying to reach out more directly to undergraduate students.

She pointed out task forces weren’t set up until the merger proposal was approved in October.

“Nothing has happened in terms of decisions on how the school will move forward,” she said.

The reason for journalism’s early student involvement, she said, was due to student initiative that came with the concerns of an independent school moving into the college.

Hatley Major now has a list of potential student representatives for telecommunications, but she said communications and culture has been harder to figure out. Only some of the department will merge into the Media School, so Hatley Major said she felt she had to be careful moving forward.

“We should have a board in place by next week,” she said.

She said a Media School website is in the works, where students will be able to more easily access updates.

Hatley Major said students interested in offering input should feel free to contact her.

“There is plenty of time,” she said.

Next steps include assembling a student board with representatives from the journalism school and departments of telecommunications and communications and culture.

“It is very important for us to have student input,” she said, “student input from all three units that are involved in this merger.”

Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.