Communication Department Newsletter
September 2008
Hope College Department of Communication | 257 Columbia Ave. | Holland, MI 49423 | Phone: 616.395.7595 | Fax: 616.395.7937
Professor Profile:
Christian Spielvogel
“Essentially, instead of reading
chapters in a textbook, students read
Last year, Communication Professor interactive newspapers that tell a story
Christian Spielvogel used his year-long of the war through local and national
sabbatical to work at the University of articles, videos, photo galleries, polls,
Virginia after receiving a fellowship and maps,” Spielvogel said.
from the university and a grant from
The learning process does not end
the National Endowment of the then, however, as students are able to
Humanities. While at the University of interact with fellow students who are
Virginia, Spielvogel created and tested playing the roles of various real-life
software and supporting content for Civil War characters.
the Valley Sim, which is an online role“Then students, (who are) playing
playing simulation about the Civil War. characters based on the lives of actual
Spielvogel did not
wartime residents, discuss
have to create the entire
its contents with the
simulation alone, though,
other characters through
as he received help
chat rooms, discussion
from Hope students and
forums, and private letters,”
faculty. The simulation
Spielvogel said.
provides a chance for
Upon completion of
up to 30 students at a
the simulation, Spielvogel
time to “relive” the war as
tested the Valley Sim
characters that are based
with college students
on the lives, diaries, and
Spielvogel
at Penn State University
letters of former wartime residents. and high school teachers in Virginia.
Spielvogel believes the simulation will Both groups expressed strong interest
help students gain knowledge about and motivation for the simulation, as
the Civil War in a fun and interactive students were able to not only learn
manner.
course material, but also have fun
“Our simulation is designed to through anonymous role-play.
motivate students to read and analyze
When he was not working on the
primary documents, as well as, Valley Sim, Spielvogel had time to play
understand the war and its traumatic competitive basketball and softball for
effects through the words of those who the first time in fifteen years.
experienced it firsthand,” Spielvogel
“Those experiences were both
said.
thrilling and humbling, as I discovered
Spielvogel is very excited about the that I now have ‘warning track power’
ways in which Valley Sim can be used as as a softball player,” Spielvogel said.
an interactive, educational process for
Spielvogel also enjoyed the
future students around the country.
company of his wife and three children
“We envision the Valley Sim as a as they toured Charlottesville, Virginia’s
next-generation textbook that gives countryside and architecture, including
students a more active, experiential Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello,
role in the learning process,” Spielvogel and the University of Virginia, which
said.
was designed by Jefferson.
The Valley Sim replaces typical
During his sabbatical, Spielvogel
textbooks with interactive material that proved that learning can be fun and
will excite students in their learning interactive. The Valley Sim is a testament
processes.
to this fact.
By Chris Lewis
Communication senior
takes aim with the
Golf Channel
By James Ralston
For the summer of 2008 Chris Lewis
(’09) decided to aim high and apply for
an internship at his dream company,
Golf Channel. For the position Lewis
spent the summer in Orlando, Florida
working at the Golf Channel’s world
headquarters.
“Ever since I was in middle school,
my dream and life goal was to eventually
work for Golf Channel, ESPN, Golf
Digest and PGA TOUR,” Lewis said.
“I’m only 21 years old, so one of the
four already is not too bad.”
While interning Lewis had a
variety of responsibilities ranging
from marketing to public relations,
and finished the summer writing for
GolfChannel.com.
“The last month I was there I started
writing articles for GolfChannel.com,”
Lewis said. “During the summer I had
8 articles published online. The stories
I wrote were mainly focused on golfing
in the Detroit area. This was of interest
because the PGA championship was
held there in August.”
For those looking to land their dream
internship, Lewis offers some advice.
“The best thing to do for internships
is to start off small,” Lewis said. “I had
four internships before this one that
helped to build up my resume. I did
the Chicago Semester as well as other
programs that definitely helped me land
the job.”
Campus Media Provides Exciting Opportunities
By Chris Lewis
The Anchor has been Hope College’s
student-run newspaper since 1887.
With such a significant history, The
Anchor has continually strived to
improve year after year. This year will
not be any different as The Anchor
has made some significant changes.
The Anchor will now be printed in
color each week and will be available
for students on Wednesday morning,
instead of the afternoon, in order to
increase readership. The Anchor staff
is continually looking for talented
individuals who are hoping to gain
writing or photography experience.
Interested students are invited to
attend the weekly meetings that occur
every Sunday at 6 p.m. Students can
also provide feedback about the paper
every Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
“I am really excited about The
Anchor this year. Our staff is very
team-oriented,”
co-editor-in-chief
Ashley DeVecht said. “The Anchor has
made some changes that will hopefully
increase readership.”
a yearbook is produced. The Milestone
will once again seek to reflect both the
changing nature and timeless spirit of
Hope College with a reflection of the
school year’s events through stories,
photographs and design. All Hope
students are invited to have their
professional photographs taken on
November 10 (underclassmen) and
November 11-14 (seniors). Students
are also encouraged to inform The
Milestone about events that are
occurring within their team, club,
department or organization.
Oct. 7th for visual art submissions.
OPUS will create a third issue this year
for Hope College’s Veritas Forum, a
format of campus conferences that
explore the Christian understanding
of truth. OPUS will also create a large
multi-genre event to celebrate OPUS,
the Veritas Forum, and to encourage
artistic collaboration on campus.
The new OPUS Speaker Series will
feature guest speakers on art-related
topics. The first speaker, Professor
Caleb Spenser from the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago, will discuss
the relationship between art and
Christianity on October 27th.
Upcoming Events
WTHS: WTHS 89.9-FM is Hope
College’s student-run radio station
and is housed in the Martha Miller
Center. The station broadcasts through
computer automation and provides
Hope students with the opportunity
to host their own live, two-hour long
show. A 10-person Executive Board
staff oversees all aspects of the station,
from choosing music to producing
live news and sports updates every
hour. WTHS broadcasts reach a 20mile radius throughout the greater
Holland area to inform students and
community members about activities
on campus, local news, sports,
current events, and the latest sound
in alternative college music. Catering
to many musical tastes, the station is
on the air 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year to serve its listeners.
“I am really excited about where
the station is headed this year,” WTHS
general manager Susie Jolink said. “We
want to grow as a station and become
more connected with the Hope and
Holland community.”
• Frost Center Colloquium, “Tribute to the
People”: Historical-Critical Study of Holland’s 9th Street Mural (Comm. students
Laura Grimm & Kristina Large, faculty supervisor Prof. Isolde Anderson): Thursday,
Sept. 25 at 11 a.m. in Anderson-Werkman
Center 250.
• Dr. Maria Lapinski Lecture, “Communication, Culture and Global Health,” Communication-Department-Sponsored CIS Event:
Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 2:15 p.m. in the MMC
Auditorium. Reception to follow.
• Comm. Dept. Alumni Open House and
Reception (during Homecoming): Saturday, Oct. 4 at 12-1 p.m., MMC Rotunda.
• Town Hall Debate Event, Sponsored by
Prof. Spielvogel’s Political Comm. Course:
Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. Details to come.
• Communication Department Graduate School Information Session: Tuesday,
Oct. 14 at 11 a.m., organized by Prof. Park.
Watch for details.
• Martha Burk Lecture, “The High Stakes in
2008: Issues, the Women’s Vote and You”:
GVSU’s Eberhard Center at 7 p.m. on Wed.,
Oct. 15. See Linda Koetje in the Comm. office ASAP to reserve a bus seat.
• 3rd Annual Intercultural & Gender Film
Festival: Thursday, Oct. 16, sponsored by
Prof. Johnston’s Intercultural & Gender
Comm. Class. More details to follow.
• AHENA Connections 2008 Career/Networking Event: Thursday, Oct. 16 at 6-7
p.m. in Room 215 of the GVSU Eberhard
Center. Sign up with Linda ASAP to reserve
a bus seat. This is a special event for
women.
• Screening of Prof. Park’s Film, “When the
West Brought Civilization Back to Africa”:
Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Knickerbocker.
Watch for more details.
The Milestone: According to
advisor Emily Hall, The Milestone is off
to an exciting start this year as senior
and Communication student Ali
Thompson and sophomore Brittany
Tuiner are serving as this year’s coeditors. Last week, The Milestone
staff hosted a “Meet and Greet,”
which provided an opportunity for
interested students to learn about
opportunities to be involved either as
paid section editors or photographers,
OPUS: Hope College’s student-run
or as volunteer contributors.
literary magazine, OPUS, will have an
In October, Milestone staff members upcoming submission deadline on
will be traveling to the Walsworth plant Sept. 29th for print submissions and
to witness firsthand the ways in which
Newsletter questions or comments? Contact james.ralston@hope.edu
OPUS