Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Student Blogging

I've just been accepted as a tour guide and -possibly- student blogger. I was asked to come in to discuss student blogging next week, but I'm still not clear on if that means I got the job.

Either way, I thought I'd post some of my ideas for student blogging as well as the sample blog I had to write for my application. Since my best friend, Kate, is a student blogger for Pace, I thought I could get some great tips from her *hint hint*

Currently, the student blogs for SU are pretty well hidden. I had a lot of problems finding them on the website. I know they aren't really for current students to read, but I still think they should be publicized a little more somehow. The blogs are also pretty dry. Some of the bloggers post pictures and they're all good enough writers, but even knowing the bloggers and all the events they're writing about...I'm still bored.

My sample blog is pretty boring too. So I guess I can't talk. However, I would really like to decrease the boredom level if I get to blog next year. Some of the current bloggers post pictures. I was obsessed with taking pictures in high school so this is something I would definitely like to do as well. But the current bloggers don't really take pictures that show SU life, in my opinion. Most of their pictures come from either events not on campus and hardly related to SU or of specific parties that don't really show the campus. As a prospective student, I would really want to see what the campus looks like --- not what some random student's sorority sisters did on spring break.

Another thing I think would be cool to incorporate is playlists or song suggestions. My favorites, professor suggestions and local artists. I really want to incorporate things like that to make the blogs more interesting...but so far that's all I can come up with.

Suggestions and tips are more than welcome. For you viewing pleasure, here is my sample application blog:

My favorite season isn’t really a season at all. My favorite season is the few weeks when the winter heats up into spring. The transition to spring (though it’s been back and forth for about a month with this crazy Texas weather) has been gorgeous on the SU campus.

It’s great walking out of class into the warm sun to see students picnicking across the Mall, Pirate Bikes zooming every which way and the entire campus a buzz with a renewed enthusiasm.
For the past week, a group of friends and I have been playing Frisbee out on the Mall every day after dinner. The great thing about living on a campus like Southwestern is that, as you play, random people passing by will join in the game. Typically at least one member of the group knows the person, but if not the whole campus is friendly enough that anyone is always welcome.

One thing to note here is that no matter how much I love being outside this time of year, I stink at Frisbee. In fact, I stink at any game that involves hand-eye coordination. So, one evening last week, when the group decided to turn our lackadaisical game of Frisbee into an intense round of Ultimate Frisbee, I called it quits.

Yet, despite my pleas, my team wouldn’t let me ditch. Luckily, just as the game was starting, I saw my RAs walking across the Mall towards our game. Noticing my dilemma, my RAs “saved” me by inviting me to go with them to scout out locations for the filming of their next movie.

For a project last semester, my RAs decided to employ all of their residents to film a re-enactment of the Paris Commune (part of the French Revolution). Since the movie had been so much fun to make, my RAs are planning on filming a sequel that we’re going to show at a surprise birthday party for our ex-First Year Seminar professor.

Even though I ditched a game of Ultimate, I had a really fun evening of hanging out with my RAs. Whether it’s a late night milkshake run or covering each other in fake blood while pretending to be French revolutionaries, they always know how to cheer up their residents. All in all, it was another fun (almost) spring night on campus.

2 comments:

Joanna said...

Maybe I am simply distrustful of student bloggers because they HAVE to solicit for their school... Knowing you, I know that what you're writing is what you mean and what you do. Maybe romanticized a bit, because that is what you do naturally. But nothing too changed. However, someone who didn't know you might think you were just trying to make Southwestern sound overly good.

But that is probably just the problem I have with all student blogging. Because it always seems somewhat censored to me... Even if not directly so.

I still think you are a great writer. And a better potential student bloggers than the UT ones. That is certain.

Kate said...

I love that blog. I think it's lovely. It makes me think of a beautiful traditional college campus with all the campus-y feel and hills and quad and stuff.

Yes, student blogging sucks. We have to censor ourselves and sound like we're freaking advertising the school. But as writers in the working world, I figure there will always be a lot more bullshit to put up with... and it's fun to write for something even semi-public anyhow. :)

My last blog for the school was about running onto TV and film sets and meeting famous people who live in New York... that happens in Georgetown, right? (bwahaha)

;-)