With the Media Summit just one week away, there are many reasons why students and faculty at SUNY Oswego are anticipating this year’s event. The Media Summit will return to the newly renovated Tyler Hall for its twelfth year. The Summit was founded by alumni Lou Borrelli and Al Roker in 2005, to give students the chance to network with professionals in the media industry.

In years past, there was mainly a focus on connecting students with professionals in broadcasting, but this year, that theme is going to change. This year’s theme is “Digital, Social, Mobile: How Media Trends Impact Theater, Art and Music.”The theme strives to bring the Schools of Communication, Media and the Arts together, to broaden the topics the Media Summit covers. With a more unique and diverse panel than ever before, the Media Summit is now an event that appeals to students not only in the School of Communication interested in media, but also the School of the Arts and the Theater department.

The moderator for this year’s Summit is alumni Sean McAllister, Class of 2001. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Journalism, McAllister joined the Fox5 team in 2005 as News Producer. He quickly moved into his role as Executive Producer in which he launched the Emmy nominated show “MORE.”  He has made a name for himself in Las Vegas as an entertainment reporter. While Sean McAllister serves as role-model for students in journalism, the panelists serve as role-models and mentors to students in the fields of music, theater and the arts.

Panelist George Nick Gianopolous, used his passion for classical music to launch his career as a composer. Now, a multi-award winning artist, Gianopolous travels the world, sharing his love for music with others. His passion for music and the arts is mutually shared with fellow panelist Diana Priesler, the star of the Lifetime Television series “Pitch Slapped”.

After Priesler earned her bachelor’s degree in theatre performance and directing at SUNY Oswego, she used her voice to make an impact in the world of acapella music. Priesler is not only featured on her own television show, but she also is a member of an acapella band Blue Jupiter. When she isn’t using her talent on television or in her band, she hosts “SingStrong,” an international music charity event.

Third panelist Mya Brown also shares a background with Diana Priesler in theater. Brown is an actor, director/playwright and current visiting assistant professor in acting/directing and voice/diction here at SUNY Oswego. She is using her experience and expertise from performing in over 30 regional and national productions to reach the students in theater and music. Her passion for theater and the arts is not the only thing that keeps her going, but her love for technology and incorporating the use of it into theater is something that inspires her to match the advances with technology to theater.

The final panelist for this year’s Summit is former marketing and communications coordinator for SUNY Oswego’s Department of Campus Life, Michael Yoon. During his time at Oswego, Yoon also earned his Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. With the skills he developed, Yoon found his passion for working with print and design. After graduation, Yoon moved on to become the communication manager for University Services at Princeton University.

This year’s Media Summit is devoted to including all schools that make up SCMA. The decision to involve all the schools was suggested by Dean Julie Pretzat, to unite all students from the schools at one of the biggest events on campus, the Media Summit. Co-event director Kalie Hudson describes the panelists for this year’s event as being heavily entertainment based, but is hopeful the discussion is something that will engage everyone in communications, music, theatre and art and will be a discussion all can find interest in.

While inclusion of theater and the arts was essential in choosing this year’s panelists, the goal was to have communication remain at the heart of the event. Although the panelists are from different fields, there are overlapping interests in the fields of communication, media and the arts, so the decision to include all three schools was not a difficult decision at all as Hudson states.

The theme of this year’s event, “Digital, Social, Media”, is something that affects all students whether it is in the School of Communication or the School of the Arts; it is a discussion that can engage all students and a discussion in which all students can take something away from and apply it to their own field.

On October 27 at 3:00pm, all students are invited to gather in the Waterman Theater in Tyler Hall for a discussion with current professionals in the fields of communication, the arts, theater, and music. Each panelist has made a name for his/herself in their chosen fields and are prime examples of what students can achieve beyond graduation from SUNY Oswego.

Oswego, N.Y- Oswego State is receiving bigger name-speakers as years go on, especially for the media. The newest name on the list is Miguel Coyula, one of biggest filmmakers in Latin America. Along with him was actress Lynn Cruz who presented workshops for an audience interested in directing and acting.

Coyula is known for his political-heavy films such as Nadie (No One) and Memorias del Desarollo (Memories of Overdevelopment.) He presented screenings for both films and a Q&A session for each film.

In Cruz’ first workshop, she showed students how Coyula creates effects for his movies. Stop-motion style, Miguel adds images from magazines or other sorts of things into backgrounds of a film shot. Her second event was a presentation on the difference between acting in theatre and film. Oswego State professor Ulises Mejia, who organized the event, was present to translate what she said to the audience. Cruz says directors should learn about their actors on both the personal and work level in order for acting in a movie to feel more genuine. She also loves to co-direct with Miguel. ”I don’t only work as an actress but also behind the camera. I’ve discovered in my opinion that the actor’s role is more difficult,” Cruz said.

Coyula believes the film industry in Cuba is changing instantly because of the country’s westernization. “Directors aren’t working as independently as before, most films are now commercialize. The film industry began so filmmakers can only work as independently. But now that’s all changed,” Coyula said.

At the end of the event, Coyula showed a snippet of his current movie in production, Blue Heart.

by Stefanie Sciolaro, WTOP10-TV

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Well members of SUNY Oswego’s Student Association took that saying even farther in their 1,000 Words Campaign on Thursday.  The event was held in room 133 of the Marano Campus Center from 10AM to 4PM with another event later in the night in the Marano Auditorium from 6PM to 7PM. The afternoon event consisted of an activity students could do to help promote positivity and hope on campus.

Students would come in and choose any quote that means something to them. After choosing a quote, they’d decide where they wanted it to be written on them. An event volunteer would then write the quote on the student and a picture of them would be taken in front of a black back-drop. The student would then fill out a form with their information, and a member of the Student Association would email those pictures to them after the event. If a student did not want to have their picture taken, there was also a white board that students could write their quotes on.

Allif Karim is one of the students who took part in the event. He explained the reasoning behind why he chose the quote, “ Don’t change to be, be the change”.

“Growing up I used to be the typical kid trying to change myself, you know trying to see what fits, what’s hip. Now I understating that you don’t really have to do that, be someone who influences others,” said Alif.

Later that night the event held in the Marano Auditorium showcased all the pictures of students that had participated, along with guest speakers who explained the stories behind their quotes.

With evident tension between people within society today, this event was aimed at bringing the people of SUNY Oswego back together again. The student body has become separated, to a concerning degree, by views over recent events that have occurred in the United States. The 1,000 Words Campaign event was a way for students to positively express themselves through the inspiring words they each individually stand by, and share them with each other.