By Daniel Smith
Creative Writing, junior

Next summer, the Department of Communication will send up to 25 students to Beijing to act as media liaisons for the 2008 Olympic Games on Aug. 8-24.

They will be trained to assist different English-speaking media outlets, such as the British Broadcasting Corp., NBC, and CNN, in everything from researching stories and getting around Beijing, to arranging interviews and advising media people on Chinese culture and etiquette.

Purdue was invited by the Communication University of China, one of the top-ranked communication programs in China, on behalf of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee to send students. Purdue students will live on the CUC campus along with students from Emerson College and the University of Queensland, Australia. Other Beijing universities are hosting other invited colleges, such as the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri.

Communication University of China Vice President Hu Zhengrong (left), and Department Head Howard Sypher discuss the upcoming Beijing Olympics study abroad program during an October trip to Beijing.

"Those universities chosen to send students are a very elite group," said Professor Jane Natt, who will accompany the students and teach a study abroad course as part of the program. The course will explore different aspects of global journalism and require the students to keep online journals about their experiences that will be made available to their hometown newspapers and the local West Lafayette newspaper, the Journal & Courier.

"The idea is to make this a local event by sharing these Purdue students' international experiences with Indiana communities and others in the United States," said Department of Communication head Howard Sypher.

Professor Natt is looking for students who are "enthusiastic, not just about this opportunity, but about how this opportunity will help them in their chosen career."

Communication students have a lot to gain from this kind of experience, Natt said. Not only will they have a unique addition to their resume, their time spent with major international media outlets will give them useful contacts in the industry.

Natt says that this is also a good opportunity to experience another culture. The ability to immerse oneself in another culture is good preparation for a career in global journalism.

The students will undergo monthlong training, and then be assigned to either the main media center or a specific venue, such as the tennis stadium or swimming pool, during the actual Olympics.

To make sure Purdue students make a good impression, Purdue's own Confucius Institute, which is co-sponsoring this opportunity with the department, will run a culture and language course in the spring semester to teach the students simple Chinese phrases and Chinese culture.

"We are excited to be working with some of the best journalism and communication programs in the country in supporting this premier international event," Sypher said.