PAGE 16 11 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11. 2009
STYLE
the pendulum
Webcam speakers bring outside voices to Elon
the decorated body:
EXPLORING
anthropology
& FASHION
Alexandra Johnston
Fashion Columnist
Since the dawn of time, human beings have
expressed themselves through the clothes they
wear. Although styles and trends change each
season, the role of clothing as a representation
of one’s self and one’s beliefs will always lie
underneath.
Anne Bolin, professor of
anthropology at Elon, has
dedicated a portion of her
studies to this topic.
“The most important
point to consider is the
idea of the decorated body,”
Bolin said. “Clothing is part
Alexandra cultural system of
Johnston embodiment that is used
Fashion Columnist demonstrate who we are
and is a vehicle to perform
our identities.”
Bolin’s personal style is
a favorite of Elon students. Many female students
often comment on how unusually creative her
pairings are. Bolin likes to add a twist to her
outfit every day in order to push the boundaries
of clothing in the workplace and express her
identity as an anthropologist and feminist.
“For example, on some days 1 might like to
dress in a professional and conventional suit,"
Bolin said. “But it’s not going to be traditional
grey or navy. It’ll be purple.”
In addition to a colorful collection of slacks,
suits and skirts, Bolin frequently wears ethnic
jewelry. She uses it as a representation of her
anthropological identity and the cultures she
has researched and admired. She is particularly
fond of her Pacific adornments, such as her
Samoan shell necklace.
I'hrough her research on women’s embodiment
spanning the historical and cross-cultural, Bolin
has explored how clothing modifies women's
shape. A classic example is the corset, an extreme
alteration with negative medical consequences to
meet ideals of feminine beauty.
Clothing is also a representation of a
particular time period and political era. Bolin
fondly remembers growing up in Boulder, Colo.,
amid the women’s liberation movement and the
sexual revolution of the late 1960s. Clothing at
that time was used as a catalyst for change in
traditional women’s gender roles.
“Women didn’t wear pants,” she said. “We
went into the men’s stores and started buying
their jeans and wearing them. There were no
women’s jeans.”
By refusing to conform to the skirted, coifed
women’s appearance of the time, a simple act
such as buying men’s pants turned into a serious
advocacy and political effort for change, Bolin
said.
Today, clothing still holds a sense of identity
for many. On a recent trip to Taiwan, Bolin
requested to be shown the youth shopping
area in Taipei by a few young Taiwanese female
students. Between storefronts and shops, the
young women expressed their opinions of the
high-heeled shoe.
“I’ll never forget these young women who were
just so marvelously political,” Bolin said. “As one
of the students sat there with me, she took off
her high heeled pointed shoe and said, ‘This is
not an insignia of my submission. It makes me
taller. I'm as tall as the men and I can look them
eye-to-eye and I can take this off and use it as
a weapon.’ She was fabulous. 1 love how she co
opted meaning and expressed her agency.”
It is interesting to see how much meaning
clothing has in cultures around the world by
observing clothing as an important element in
understanding material culture.
“Clothing means something to people,” Bolin
said. “It has a strong persona) and cultural
symbolic load. An article of clothing may be
kept for its memories as a sensory reminder. For
example, wedding dresses or prom dresses are
kept for their purely emotional valence.”
Bolin still has the outfit she wore when she
received her Ph.D. because of the deep meaning
and sense of accomplishment the outfit holds for
her.
Clothing has been a representation of human
culture and means for political change since the
beginning of time. Remember this and take it to
heart when getting dressed.
Jack Dodson
Senior Reporter
A faculty member at the Poynter Institute, a school
for journalism in Florida. Award-winning college
photojournalists talking from their hotel room at
a convention in Alabama. A Pulitzer Prize-winning
photojournalist and a freelance photographer who
interned at the Los Angeles Times and the New York
Times who video chatted from a Starbucks in New
York City.
These are just a few of the people who have spoken to
communications professor Randy Piland's classes via the
Internet. Skype and iChat have given technology a new
role in the classroom as professors at Elon have begun
using webcams to bring speakers to their classes.
Piland teaches photojournalism classes and has used
this technique for almost four years.
“It’s just a way to bring some professionals to the
classroom without having to pay the expenses to bring
them here,” he said.
Professors can showcase a lecture from anywhere
in the world using this tactic, assuming the other end
has an Internet connection and the timing works out,
eliminating travel and lodging costs.
The speakers and subjects can be anyone and
anything because the set-up is so simple and free of
charge — that is, if you have a computer with a camera
attached. It is possible to connect with a college student
somewhere else in the world that may have an interesting
story to share, or a world-renowned author or politician
someone who wouldn’t typically have time to drop by
Elon’s campus.
“It’s a way to broaden their experience in the
classroom,” Piland said.
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, Piland
had one of the photographers from the Roanoke Times
in Virginia who had covered the story video chat with
the class.
Because the photographer was talking from his office,
the class ended up talking to the director of photography
at the newspaper as well as the Web manager and the
managing editor about their coverage of the tragedy.
Associate Professor of Communications Anthony
Hatcher has also used this concept, but said that using
a webcam to bring a speaker to class loses the personal
PHOTO COURTESY OF MOT CAMPUS
Yan Chow, a doctor at the Kaiser Permanente Sidney
Garfield Health Care Innovation Center in San Leandro, Calif.,
communicates with another employee through a Web camera.
touch of an in-person speech.
“However, having a live chat is the next best thing,”
he said. “The students were a bit awed by seeing (the
speaker) — and themselves — projected up on a giant
screen during the question and answer. There was a
novelty factor.”
Hatcher said bringing speakers to class via Webcam
is like any teaching tool — not to be overused. Piland,
meanwhile, capitalizes on the uses of this concept by
saving all of the speeches that occur in his class through
video chat and then posting them as a video file later on
for his students and other classes to view.
“Teaching’s changed a lot,” Piland said. “Probably more
in recent years than in past years because of technology.
We like to think of it as collaborative learning. I like to
present the students with a lot of content and let them
gather what they can with it.”
He elaborated that some universities take the idea a
step further and record lectures to be kept on an iPod or
iPhone. He said this can be useful for summer courses
when students are not in classrooms but all over the
country or the world.
While the idea is not new, it is beginning only now to
work its way into the classroom as a typical medium for
learning. Piland said that it’s not a difficult concept, and
it’s not anything that is revolutionary. It only depends
on the faculty’s willingness to use technology that's
already available.
GETTING THE MOST BANG PER BUCK:
Financial aid tips for college students
Lauren Ramsdell
Reporter
As all Elon students know,
tuition, room and board can add
up. What many don’t know is that
financial aid is not only available
for high school seniors. There
is a multitude of scholarship
opportunities through the
university and otherorganizations
geared toward students that are
already in college, and Elon can
help with the search for some
college “green.”
Contact the financial aid office
The people working in the
financial aid office don’t assist
with non-need-based aid, but they
can help find information about
other scholarships.
Financial Aid Director M.
Patrick Murphy estimates that of
all Elon students, only about 55
percent apply for financial aid. Of
the 55 percent percent, between
38 and 40 percent are awarded
some kind of aid.
“Don’t make the assumption
that you're not eligible,” Murphy
said. “You won’t get any if you
don't apply.”
The financial aid office can
help uncover scholarships that
no one would ever think of —
from Daughters of the American
Revolution to Blondes Only.
Check your campus box often
Many on-campus organizations
offer scholarships for women,
minorities, men and specific
majors. Some scholarships cover
the cost of books and some are
just a little extra to help take
the bite out of a $25,000 tuition
check. Every little bit helps, so
keep on top of the scholarship
deadlines.
Currently, Sigma Phi Epsilon
is holding interviews for its
Balanced Women Scholarship.
The deadline was weeks ago,
and information was distributed
through campus boxes. The ladies
still in the running are there they
checked their mail. There are also
departmental scholarships that
may become available depending
on the classes one takes.
Log on
Found under the “Admissions”
tab on the Elon Web site, the
financial aid site breaks down
the types of scholarships
into the following categories:
endowed scholarships, merit-
based programs, talent-based
programs, ROTC, engineering
and scholarships for high school
juniors. Themerit-based programs
are only awarded to incoming
freshmen, but the talent-based
programs are renewable each
year and can be an invaluable
opportunity.
It is never too late to apply
for need-based aid. Completing
the FAFSA and CSS Profile was
a requirement for first-time
freshmen, and those applications
can be updated and resubmitted
for achance at earning government
loans or grants. Elon also offers
an application for need-based
financial aid specifically for
returning students.
There are dozens of Web sites
devoted specifically to finding
non-need based scholarships.
These scholarship search
engines match applicants with
scholarships best tailored to their
interests, backgrounds and needs
to help students find scholarships
that are both unique and carry a
great payout.
THE PENDULUM PRESENTS
ELON’S
the decade
VISIT http://bit.ly/2Djt5x
to nominate your top three
Movies, Books, CDs, TV shows. Concerts