Above: Students prepare for class in main studio of the new Carolyn Chambers Electronic Media Center.

by Andy Opel, graduate student

A haggard student scurries into the lobby at 8 a.m.

"Can you please check this camera in for me? I have a class in two minutes," Laura Strobel says as she leans into Warren Pease's office.

Pease looks up from his computer smiling. "Sure, but it'll cost ya!" The day starts early at the Carolyn Chambers Electronic Media Center. The new video production facility has become a central part of life in the School of Journalism and Communication. Together with the new Student Services Office, the recent renovations are changing the way people move around Allen Hall. What students are discovering in these new spaces are the tools to help them speak. This is not the language of words, this is the literacy of images.

Students come into the Chambers Electronic Media Center with a great deal of enthusiasm. The cameras and editing machines allow for the full range of student interests on subjects as diverse as train robbery and golf courses. These tools allow people to express their unique views of the world.

"This is an exciting time!" says Al Stavitsky, associate dean."We are in the process of becoming a full-service video production program. This is not only news. We have students doing documentary, public relations, advertising and edu cational videos." The addition of the Electronic Media Center has brought the video production sequence into Allen Hall. As a new gathering spot, the Center provides a space for students to share ideas and exhibit their work.

"...This is not only news. We have students doing documentary, public relations, advertising and educational videos."

The other factor making the Center a hot spot is the infusion of two new faculty members. Denise Matthews, Ph.D., joined the SOJC faculty in the fall and has raised the bar a few notches for studen ts hoping to take an easy production class. Coming from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Matthews, too, has been challenged.

"I have been very impressed with the conceptual abilities of these students. They have a very sophisticated understanding of the medium and a great desire to learn the technical skills," she says.

Strobel graduated from the School with a BA in 1994 and is now getting an interdisciplinary master's in Folklore and Documentary Journalism. Having just finished her first video documentary, Strobel claims Matthews' documentary production c lass was the most practical, hands-on class she took at the university. Focusing on PAM (Programa Del Assistencia Medica), a local program that provides medical care to low-income Latinos, Strobel and senior John Medina created a promotional video that ca n now be used to help fund raise.

This connection to the community is a significant aspect of the production sequence."By having students work with people in the community -- individuals, businesses or non-profit groups -- they learn what it takes to do this work. The team-work aspect of video production is essential," says Matthews.

Pease, the Center's technical engineer, is used to helping students. He has almost 20 years in the field, handling everything from directing to camera repair. Teaching continues to be the part of each day he likes best.

After his video field production class, senior Jamey Toombs, '98, looks tired."I was here late last night, screaming at the machines, editing my final project," he says. Students often struggle for access to cameras and editing bays. With four VHS editing suites and only one Super VHS system, the equipment is under heavy demand.

Because of the demand, the School has hired students to monitor the facility so it can stay open nights and weekends. Senior Chris Campbell works as a monitor."This is a great place to work. I end up helping people a lot and this reinforces my knowledge 10 times over."

With a lot of students showing interest in visual media, the School is racing into the 21st century.

"The administration has been working VERY hard to bring us into computer, non-linear editing. Everyone in the business is in the transition from analogue to digital, and we are headed in that same direction," says Matthews.

With these changes come some concerns. "Our curriculum has to drive our technology decisions," contends Stavitsky."We are outcome based and we want to give students what they need academically and professionally."

Student projects can be seen on local cable access channel 12 and on OPB.

The center was made possible with a $750,000 pledge from Carolyn Silva Chambers,'50, chairman of the board of Chambers Communications Corp. and a member of the University of Oregon Journalism Advancement Council. Chambers also is a member of th e U.S. Banorp Board of Directors. She created the School's first two endowed professorships -- the Chambers Professor of Advertising and the KEZI Professor of Broadcasting.

The 6,000-square-foot electronic media center features two production studios, five editing bays, a teaching control room, and several audio production studios. A dedication of the center will be held at 4:30 p.m. April 9 in Allen Hall.