2008 Woodie Awards
The scoop on the Lawence blog
Regina Siefert
Issue date: 9/30/05 Section: Features
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A lot of us know about Internet blogging. If we don't do it ourselves, we know someone who does, and maybe even make fun of them. For those rare breeds that have no idea what I am talking about, blogs - Web logs, that is - are journals posted online for the world to see. In many cases, blog entries are mindless rants or a recap on the person's day. Others are forums for news and current events.
So what does this have to do with Lawrence? Starting around March of this year, the Admissions Office began to throw around the idea of creating a Lawrence blog for prospective students to read. "The admissions website does a lot really well," said Jacob Allen, assistant director of conservatory admission, "but it was missing the student life aspect."
To solve this problem, Allen and his colleagues brainstormed what they thought their blog should be, and who should write in it. "We took recommendations from all sorts ... other students, staff." Allen said.
They also took applications, which after inspection yielded a group of 25 candidates. Those 25 were interviewed, and the blog group was selected. "We originally thought of using two freshmen, two sophomores, one junior, one senior, and one super senior," said Allen, "but we ended up with two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors, and one senior."
They chose a very diverse group - one that they hope will represent international students, conservatory students, non-conservatory students, students from both coasts, and Wisconsin residents.
Eric Armour, a junior biology major, is one of those representatives. "We write about what our week is like, and what it entails both academically and socially," said Armour. "Along with our entries, we submit two pictures each."
Armour said that the Admissions Office did not specifically tell them what they were prohibited from writing about. He's sure, however, that they hoped the blog writers would be positive and responsible and refrain from writing about sex, drugs, or alcohol. "I don't think I would want to talk about that stuff, anyway," Armour confessed.
So what does this have to do with Lawrence? Starting around March of this year, the Admissions Office began to throw around the idea of creating a Lawrence blog for prospective students to read. "The admissions website does a lot really well," said Jacob Allen, assistant director of conservatory admission, "but it was missing the student life aspect."
To solve this problem, Allen and his colleagues brainstormed what they thought their blog should be, and who should write in it. "We took recommendations from all sorts ... other students, staff." Allen said.
They also took applications, which after inspection yielded a group of 25 candidates. Those 25 were interviewed, and the blog group was selected. "We originally thought of using two freshmen, two sophomores, one junior, one senior, and one super senior," said Allen, "but we ended up with two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors, and one senior."
They chose a very diverse group - one that they hope will represent international students, conservatory students, non-conservatory students, students from both coasts, and Wisconsin residents.
Eric Armour, a junior biology major, is one of those representatives. "We write about what our week is like, and what it entails both academically and socially," said Armour. "Along with our entries, we submit two pictures each."
Armour said that the Admissions Office did not specifically tell them what they were prohibited from writing about. He's sure, however, that they hoped the blog writers would be positive and responsible and refrain from writing about sex, drugs, or alcohol. "I don't think I would want to talk about that stuff, anyway," Armour confessed.