Fake Break Edition
Elon University’s Weekly Student Publication
Wi)t ^enbulum
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 • www.elon.edu/pendulum • Volume 34, Edition 3
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Graphic by J. McMerty
Elon finds a home on West Coast
Internship program in Los Angeles will take 15 to 20 students
Lesley Tkaczyk
Reporter
Students weren’t the only ones who went
exploring this winter term. Elon administrators were
traveling too, establishing opportunities for students
to spend some time under California skies.
Paul Parsons, dean of the School of
Communications, and Gerry Francis, provost and
vice president for academic affairs, traveled to Los
Angeles in January to work out details for the “Elon
in Los Angeles Program,” a new domestic study
abroad opportunity for students set to start this
summer.
The program is looking to find 15-20 students to
travel to Los Angeles for the summer to participate
in an internship for credit. Students will also take a
currently untitled 2-credit course on the business of
Hollywood.
The program is focused on students in the School
of Communications but is open to all majors.
Parsons hopes “to accommodate any student who has
a compelling reason to want to be in Los Angeles.”
It is also currently open to all grade levels although
juniors and seniors are strongly encouraged to apply.
The cost is estimated to be about $6,000 to $7,000
for the summer, which would include tuition for six
credit hours as well as housing and programming
costs, according to Connie Book, associate dean of
the School of Communications,.
Parsons and Francis met with leaders of other
Los Angeles based communications programs
from Ithaca College and the University of Texas
during their visit and explored options for facilities
and housing. They are currently planning to use
Oakwood Toluca Hills Apartments in Burbank as the
home-base for this summer.
This facility is used by Ithaca College for their
Los Angeles program and Parsons thinks it’s a
“perfect fit” for Elon as well.
“We decided that it looked like a very good place
for student housing since they also have a classroom
available for us to lease,” Parsons said. “We’d
imagine students staying there, having the class there
and then, of course, going to their internships.”
One of the most appealing features of the
Oakwood housing to Elon is that they have special
arrangements with rental agencies where people
under the age of 25 can rent a car. This is essential in
Los Angeles where transportation can be an issue.
The program will be led by School of
Communications staff member, J. McMerty who is
anxious to start the first year.
“I am very excited to be part of the first Elon in
L.A. program,” McMerty said. “My hope is that all
of our students will get a great internship that will
let them gain valuable experience in their chosen
profession.”
Help finding that internship may be the biggest
draw of this new program. The existing relationship
Elon has with Ithaca’s Los Angeles Program has
enabled the School to secure access to Ithaca’s
database of internships, which Parsons calls a
“wealth of information.”
This partnership with Ithaca was where the idea
for the program began. Elon was referring students
interested in a West Coast internship experience to
Ithaca and, according to Parsons, after a while it just
no longer made sense.
Parsons said he has high hopes for the program
and looks forward to expanding it to be year-round in
the near future.
“In some ways this is an experiment,” he said.
“We plan to continue it, but right now, since we’ve
never done this before, we’ll do our best to publicize
it and then just how it goes.”
Applications for the program are tentatively
due the first week of March. Book and Parsons
encourage interested students to attend one of the
two information held on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and
Feb. 22 at 3:30 p.m. in McEwen Oil.
Harden gets revamped food options this spring
Alex Moss and Kaylyn Swankoski
Reporters
Many students were surprised to
find Harden Dining Hall closed during
Winter Term. During that time, there
was a series of preparations being
made in anticipation for its grand re
opening Feb. 4.
Harden Dining Hall will remain
the same structurally, but the food
options are set to change.
Highlighted in this food renovation
is the expansion of the salad bar, which
will consist of more toppings, both hot
and cold. Also included is a new wok
station and stir fry option, a running
rotisserie, homemade soups with a
large selection of fresh breads, a menu
board for the grill and an assortment
of desserts.
ARAMARK also plans to respond
to student requests and change the
dining hall hours. Upon re-opening,
the lunch/brunch hours will be from
7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from
5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
According to Laura Thompson,
director of food services at Elon,
Harden’s decline in traffic was “drastic
and immediate” following the opening
of the Colonnades.
In previous years, upwards of
300 students would dine at Harden
for dinner, yet this past semester
there was a decline to around 175.
With such a decrease in numbers,
the transformations at Harden are an
attempt to boost its popularity.
Senior Lindsay Dombert was
a residential assistant in Staley
dormitory for two years and
remembers how crowded Harden used
to get. She believes the current shift
in attention is no surprise with the
opening of the Colonnades.
Food service employees hope that
Elon students will now understand that
regardless of the dining location, the
food quality is equal throughout. This
will hopefully attract more people to
Harden.
Though Harden is now seen as the
oldest dining hall on campus, it was
renovated less than three years ago.
The main goal of t hat renovation was
to introduce ARAMARK’s Real Food
on Campus program, which brought
David Wells/ Assistant Photo Editor
The chain doors stayed closed in Harden Dining Hall this Winter Term.
cooking in front of the students.
Last semester, a survey was sent
to students about on-campus dining
services. The results were hugely
influential and might even lead to a
summer renovation of Harden. But,
because they have not been entirely
analyzed, specific plans and a budget
have not been set.