What's New:

The Bloomsburg University Xi Omega chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Honor Society, has been named the 2019 Chapter of the Year by the National Communication Association.

Featured Student

Sydney Rimmer

My name is Sydney Rimmer, and I am currently a senior at Bloomsburg, double majoring in Communication Studies with a Leadership and Public Advocacy focus and Political Science with a Legal Studies focus, as well as a minor in Public Relations. This summer, I am beyond grateful to have participated in an internship at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in the Senate Republicans Communications Office, as it was an incredibly fulfilling experience.
The office had a group of employees designated to each area of communications. There were teams of employees for areas such as speech writing, webmasters, photography, film, social media, and others. I got to shadow and help complete assignments in each of these areas, and gain an appreciation for the importance of each specialty. This offered a unique opportunity to understand “a day in the life” of the employees in this office and their responsibilities, and it also gave me an opportunity to meet people outside of the office, and experience things many other people will never experience. Seeing the behind the scenes of these events was so interesting.
The brunt of my work was done in June, as that is when the Senate is in session and the budget is being passed. Once the budget passed, July slowed down and there were significantly less events occurring, therefore less events for me to shadow, as the Senators stay in their district offices as opposed to coming to the Capitol. This gave me an accurate representation of the job, both the hustle and bustle of June, and the relaxed nature of July.
This internship has also proven to be a vital step in my networking. I received a follow up luncheon with the lobbying firm who encouraged me to intern in the Capitol, as well as encouragement from my office to look for a career in the Senate when I graduate. I got a chance to work with several Senators, thereby networking with them, which was a personal goal of mine for the summer. Another strength of my internship was the bond I formed with my coworkers. I was the only intern in my office, however I fit in perfectly with the full time employees despite us being in all different walks of life. I had anticipated forming relationships with my coworkers, but I had not foreseen how close I would grow with them. I am so blessed to now call many of my coworkers my friends. We have spent time together in both the office, as well as our free time, and I am elated they have taken me under their wings, and I still stay in touch with many of them despite being many months post internship.
My internship was a wonderful experience, and truly turned out to be a highlight of my summer. I am able to walk away from this office confident that I completed assignments efficiently and to the best of my ability. I have grown from this experience, and I am excited to see how the things I have learned and the connections I have made will apply to my future endeavors.

Department News:
November 2015

Conference Presentations
Arora, A. (2015, November). Family violence in the everyday. Panel chair and presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Arora, A. (2015, November). Experimental Tourism: Mapping and Performing Las Vegas. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Arora, A. (2015, November). Women who work it: Embracing ‘trailectical’ tensions of working women. Panel respondent at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.  

Arora, A. (2015, November). Birth Control, Positive Birth, and Surrogacy: Competitive Papers in Health and Birth Issues. Panel respondent at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Beerman, R. J. (2015, November). Big Butt but Not Big Racism? Michelle Obama, Let’s Move!, and Post-Racial Health Identity. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Beerman, R. J. (2015, November). “And Justice for All”: Rhetorics of Freedom and Equality. Panel chaired at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Brummett, E. A. (2015, November). Not Everything is Black or White: Negotiations of Race Talk Among Interracial Marital Couples. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Brummett, E. A. (2015, November). Emotional Expressions as Privacy Disclosures: A Reframing of Communication Privacy Management Theory. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Connaughton, S., Kuang, K., & Yakova, L. (2015, November). Liberia’s Pen-Pen Riders: A Case Study of a Locally-Driven, Dialogic Approach to Transformation, Peacebuilding and Organizing for Social Change. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Esquibel, E., & Hanley-Tejeda, D. (2015, November). Performing Race, Performing Culture: Interrogating Intercultural Performance. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Hanley-Tejeda, D. (2015, November). Identifying Borderlands: Mestizo Performance Poetry-in-Context. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Hanley-Tejeda, D. (2015, November). “Embrace What You Despise?” Empathy, Difference, and Forgiveness in the Critical Communication Classroom. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Hanley-Tejeda, D. (2015, November). Ass Wars Are Heating Up: The Contemporary Western Cultural Fascination with Butts. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Miller, E. C. (2015, November). The Perfect Victim: Barronelle Stutzman’s Religious Liberty. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Petre, J. T. (2015, November). The Rhetorical Criticism Classroom: An Opportunity to Develop Critical Tools for Communicating in Professional Contexts. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Shorter, S. (2015, November). The New Voices of Debate: A Closer Look at the Frederick Douglass Debate Society. Panel presentation at theNational Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Shultz, K. (2015, November). Blade Runners, Cyborgs and the Articulation of Otherness in Contemporary Dis/Abled Body Politics. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, NV.

Turnage, A. K. (2015, November). The “Art Pill”: Visual Metaphorical Empowerment and Disempowerment in Social Philanthropy. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Invited Lecture

Petre, J. T. (2015, November). The Basics of Investing. Presented to the National Communication Association Student Club, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.