New Club Aims to Improve Communication

This is yet another article I wrote for my journalism class. It is about the new Communications Club on the Fitchburg State campus.

One of the largest departments on the FSC campus is the Communications/Media department. Ironically enough, some students have been frustrated with the lack of communication within the Communications department. In an effort to improve this situation, students are starting a club that will try to get everyone on the same page.

The Fitchburg Communications Club is in the process of being a club recognized by the school administration. Led by president Amy Johnson, vice president Laura Bird, and faculty advisor Rob Carr, the club aims to help students connect and make the communications department more available. The plan is to have representatives from all the different concentrations in the department—communication studies, film/video, graphic design, interactive media, photography, and professional communication—and also to make connections with groups like the Film Society and the Falcon Players. Other ideas for the club’s mission include hosting workshops in specific areas of the program with people from outside the school and possibly taking trips. The club is also open to members of the student body who are not majoring in communications.

“We would like to plan year long projects that can get a lot of people involved and help better the school.” Laura Bird said. “One thing we would like to do is get people together to work on improving and updating the Communications department section of the school website.” She added. Making improvements to the site would not only improve the school’s image, but provide practical experience in communications that can be put on a resume. The communications section of the FSC website has not been updated in years and it is ironic that a department which includes interactive media (such as web page design) does not have an up to date website. Communication could be better.

Bird also said that she would like the club to have a “casual but serious” atmosphere where people are involved, but not in high pressure situations. They also want it to be a place where creative people who are not communications majors can still get involved on campus. English majors, for example, could bring their script ideas to the club to connect themselves with film/video students, but anyone with any interest in any of the communications concentrations is welcome to join. “Once again, this club is open to everyone. Tell all your friends.” She said. For more information on the club, there is a Facebook group called “Fitchburg Communications Club” that will be providing updates throughout the summer. The group should be able to give people more information about the club and their plans for next fall when it is made available.