By Lisa DiCarlucci, Entertainment Editor

 At the end of the Fall semester, the School of Communication decided that “Comm Prom,” an end of the year banquet for the University’s communication students, would not be held. Acting Dean of the School of Communication, Cliff Jernigan said this decision was reached by a vote among the department chairs.

In the past, the banquet was focused on awards, but in recent years the party aspect began to take over, creating an event bigger than could be handled by the two to three employees in the Dean’s Office assigned to coordinate it according to Jernigan.

Disappointed and angry, several students held a “protest” in Studio A according to Ben Mehlman, a senior film major. According to Jernigan all of the students were RTVF majors and this resulted in a meeting with the Dean and some of these students. “I really enjoyed meeting with them,” Jernigan said. “They had a lot of honest and legitimate questions. They were unbelievably creative and imaginative.” Jernigan said that the meeting was nonconfrontational.

“Dean Jernigan said that each department would be allowed to pursue an end of the year event that would be organized by themselves, independent of the Dean’s office,” Mehlman said. “Certain departments within the School of Communication wanted to veer away from what Comm Prom was,” Chris Mawson, a T.V. major said.

Mehlman and Mawson, along with fellow RTVF student Mike Alicakos, have decided to take the school’s option and hold their own event. “So at the beginning of this semester I took it upon myself to go over to the University Club to book a date and time for what is now known as “RTVF Comm Prom,” Mehlman said, “The event will be in vein of previous years but only with the RTVF department.”

According to Mehlman, the school will be providing a “disclosed amount of money” to help pay for the event. They have also received much support from members of the RTVF faculty, including Dr. Peter Gershon, Professor William Jennings and Professor Phil Katzman. “They have been behind the students with this event 100% and really have helped to make it possible,” Mehlman said.

The RTVF Comm Prom will be held on May 7 at 7 P.M. at the University Club. Students interested in purchasing tickets should contact Ben Mehlman and Chris Mawson. You must be an RTVF major to attend. Other departments within the School of Communication are free to go about independently organizing their own end of the year event.

“If I were able to make the event open to all School of Comm. students I
would, but that is just not possible,” Mehlman said, “because the reason “Comm Prom” was canceled in the first place was an outcry from the other departments
to split up the end of the year event.”

The University Club will be the site of the RTVF department’s version of “Comm Prom,” to be held on May 7 at 7 p.m. (David Gordon/The Chronicle)