CST Newsletter

CST: WHATS THE WORD?
May 2015
UNCG Communication Studies Department Newsletter
Dear Communication Studies Community,

Welcome! As you all know, communication is the powerful, transformative
force through which we collaboratively construct our everyday realities, conduct joint action, and build meaning for all our involvements. It is the connecting energy that brings people together, and allows us to transform our
relationships, our communities, and our world. The study and practice of
communication is an endless and captivating source of fascination, joy, excitementand sometimes bewilderment!
Over the past couple of years, the department has been working hard to reinvigorate our academic mission, our curriculum, our community and our
programs. Our new mission speaks to our deeply held values and our motivations for doing what we do: We teach and research communication to
connect people, create change, and work toward a just world.
I invite you to reflect on that bold statement as you read the pages of this
newsletter, which was created by our students, for our students and our
alumni. Consider how connection, change, and justice operate in your life,
and how you contribute to those principles, as you read these stories about
students, faculty, alumni, and events.
Dr. Christopher Poulos
Chris Poulos
Professor and Head
In This
Issue
Event
Student
Faculty
Alum
Calendar
Student
Spotlight
Does achieving a 4.0 GPA with a
double major sound like a dream to
you? Not for senior Andrew Clarke.
As a freshman at UNCG, Andrew
hadnt decided on a major; however,
after taking CST and Sociology classes, he saw the benefit and application of both majors and settled with
a double interdisciplinary majors of
CST and Sociology. Along with hard
work and dedication, Andrew has
been able to not only achieve a 4.0
GPA all four years but also is a
proud member of the Lloyd International Honors College here at UNCG.
Hitler Kicked Me Out

On Tuesday, March 3rd, UNCG students and the public were honored
with a day of class visits, an interdisciplinary panel discussion, and a keynote by Mr. Alfred Schnog, a resident of Wilmington NC and one of the
few remaining Holocaust survivors. Mr. Schnog was invited to UNCG by
Dr. Roy Schwartzman, who is the principal investigator for the AfterWords
Project, a collaboration with the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust.
The AfterWords Project collects, preserves and analyzes the resettlement
stories of Holocaust survivors and witnesses from the time they came to
the United States to the present. It focuses on those living in North Carolina.
Throughout the day and into the evening, Mr. Schnog relayed his boyhood experiences on Kristallnacht, the nationwide German pogrom in November 1938 that is often identified as the official beginning of the Holocaust. In Cologne, Germany, he and his family watched Nazi thugs destroy and loot Jewish businesses, then saw his own synagogue burned
down before his dramatic escape with his parents and twin brother. In his
compelling story he spoke of watching his father eating documents to ensure they were not found and of hearing his mother telling the Nazi border
guards she would kill her sons and herself on the spot, if they tried to separate the family.
As part of his Honors program, Andrew had the opportunity to study in

Ontario, Canada. Throughout his
time in Canada he was able to not
only continue his course work but
also was able to experience many
different activities like visiting Niagara Falls and participating in a ski
trip with other international students. When asked why he picked
Canada, he responded with his love
for hockey. He thoroughly enjoyed
the fact that hockey in Canada is
looked at as if it was the superbowl
here in the US. So, as so many ask,
whats after graduation? To this,
Andrew answers: Im going to Disney World Im moving and furthering my education through the
Disney college program.
During an afternoon interdisciplinary panel that included Ms. Lynda

Kellam, University Libraries; Dr. Emily Levine, European History; Dr. Susanne Rinner, German Studies; Dr. Roy Schwartzman, Communication
Studies, and Mr. Alfred Schnog the question was raised, What have we
learned from the Holocaust and genocides worldwide? While Mr. Schnog
expressed his profound gratitude for his escape and his current life in the
United States, he reminded his audience: Unless we have the knowledge
of history we cannot begin to deal with the genocides taking place today.
We must make every effort to stem the tide of hatred and lies, and become more humane to one another. During his CST class visits, he challenged students to learn from the lessons already in textbooks and reminded them they are a generation that can make a difference by speaking up and speaking out against injustice.
For additional information about Dr. Schwartzmans AfterWords Project,
visit: http://roypoet.com/AfterWords.htm
Hometown: Goldsboro, NC
Year of Graduation: 2015
GPA: 4.0
Studied Abroad: Ontario, Canada
Featured Faculty Member
Dr. Spoma
Participatory Budgeting
Comes to the South
Ask anyone who knows Dr. Spoma to describe her and the first word
youll hear is Advocacy advocacy for equality, democracy and ethical
enterprise. In a recent interview we left challenged to answer the same
questions Spoma asks of all her students and community partners in the
Participatory Budget research project she started in 2011: are we as students looking for an opportunity to have our voice heard in local politics?
Should we have a direct impact on how tax dollars are spent? Should we
have an opportunity to directly impact the future?
What is the Participatory Budgeting (PB) research project? Dr. Spoma
answers, The project this year has involved a partnership between Dudley High School, the City of Greensboro and UNCG students. PB is an
open, democratic process of participation designed to build civic engagement among ordinary people who deliberate and decide collectively how a
portion of their local, public money is spent. Basically, she continues,
YOU decide what your local government should spend money on!
The project is the first of its kind in the South, and its effects are getting
noticed as a better way to manage public money, deepen democracy,
build stronger communities, and make public budgets more effective.
In ending our interview Dr. Spoma states, Education changes the world,
and UNCG is a positive force in the community. My agenda as a professor is to amplify the voices of the youth and show them that they can
make a difference. To this end, she is bringing PB to her Research Methods class in the fall where students will have hands-on, and direct involvement in working with PB partners and in the community conducting focus
groups and survey analysis.
For more information on PB, check out: http://greensboropb.org/.
Awards and Scholarships
UNCG Golden Chain Honor Society: Karen Boger

(http://sa.uncg.edu/golden-chain)
UNCG Student Excellence Award: Kevin Flanagan and Kim Hammel

(http://honorscollege.uncg.edu/faculty/student-awards.htm)
Phi Beta Kappa Invitation: Monti Beasley, Kevin Flanagan, Megan

Elizabeth Ryals(http://www.uncg.edu/faculty.groups/pbk/)
McAllister England Undergraduate CST Scholarship: Assma Boucteb,

Karen Boger, and Robin Holde
(http://cst.uncg.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/)
2015 CST Undergraduate Commencement Speaker: Kaylin Skipwith
2015 CST Graduate Commencement Speaker: Elizabeth Dam-Regier
Faculty Promotions
Congratulations to:
Dr. Christopher N. Poulos
promoted from Associate
Professor to Professor
Dr. Cerise L. Glenn promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
Article Contributors
Event: Dr Roy Schwartzman; Caitlin Alexander; Regina DaSilva; Kevin Jones; Joquan
Cheek
Student: Frankie Brown, Steven Williamson,
Corrie Primm
Alum: Mai Vang; Andrea Bingham; Louis
Mastro; Peter Schultz.
Faculty: Evan Childress and India Tipton
Newsletter designed by: Nicole Tomeo

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CST: WHATS THE WORD?

UNCG Communication Studies Department Newsletter

Dear Communication Studies Community,

Dr. Christopher Poulos

Hitler Kicked Me Out

As part of his Honors program, Andrew had the opportunity to study in

During an afternoon interdisciplinary panel that included Ms. Lynda

Featured Faculty Member

Awards and Scholarships

UNCG Golden Chain Honor Society: Karen Boger

UNCG Student Excellence Award: Kevin Flanagan and Kim Hammel

Phi Beta Kappa Invitation: Monti Beasley, Kevin Flanagan, Megan

McAllister England Undergraduate CST Scholarship: Assma Boucteb,

2015 CST Undergraduate Commencement Speaker: Kaylin Skipwith

2015 CST Graduate Commencement Speaker: Elizabeth Dam-Regier

Newsletter designed by: Nicole Tomeo

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