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Lafayette will make history Nov. 7, as more than 100 students and faculty are participating in writing, producing, and commentating for the first ever, undergraduate-run election night television broadcast.
Updates to this article:
Nov. 8: Election Night Coverage Comes Off Without a Hitch
Nov 1: Students Are Ready to “ENvision” Election Night
Oct. 5: Students Play their Part for Election Night
According to organizer Mark Crain, Simon Professor of Political Economy and chair of Policy Studies, the broadcast will be presented in a fashion similar to coverage on major television stations. There will be up-to-the-minute tracking of results, predictions, and reporters, but one thing that will set this coverage apart will be a series of pre-recorded segments focusing on various election topics through interviews, discussions with experts, and original research.
The broadcast will run 9-11 p.m. and is tentatively being held in the Wilson Room at Pfenning Alumni Center. It will be shown throughout the internal campus network and many of the pre-recorded segments will be posted on the college web site.
Crain stresses the event is not just about the broadcast but about getting students involved in the election process. He is hoping to coordinate events being held by a number of student organizations, such as Holla back, into an election party on the patio outside of the Wilson Room. Students will be able to watch the studio and track results.
Regardless of where the broadcast is viewed, Crain says the most important aspect is the learning experience it provides.
“Lafayette is serious about teaching communication skills, both written and verbal,” he says, “But video communication is another skill highly valued in the marketplace. We are expanding beyond written and verbal and now focusing on visual broadcasting. This fits in nicely with the new policy studies major and blends media and broadcasting with politics.”
Twenty-nine students turned out to audition for the anchor, reporter, and commentator positions. Crain says he was pleased with the turnout and believes they have found the right people. Students who will be taking on roles as on-camera personalities will be announced next week.
MBC Teleproductions of Allentown has signed on in a consultation role for the project. The group has done other film projects for Lafayette. The consultants were part of the audition screening process and will help polish the segments and coach the on-camera performances.
Leading up to the event, students in classes taught by Crain; Sharon Jones, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; Nicole Crain, visiting professor of economics and business; John Kincaid, Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service; James Lennertz, associate professor of government and law; and Helma G. E. de Vries, visiting instructor of government and law, will focus a portion of their energies on producing the broadcast.
The classes, ranging from political economy to engineering and public policy, will work primarily on writing for the broadcast and the pre-recorded segments, roughly about 15 in number. The segments will deal with current issues such as why voter turnout is low, immigration, the impact of economic conditions on elections, and what policy changes can be expected if the composition of Congress changes. Various experts on these issues will be interviewed and on-camera debates will be set up. Some of the experts will be Lafayette alumni who have moved on to different areas of the political arena.
Although the segments will deal with current issues in American elections, Crain said the broadcast will be used as a springboard within each class.
“The broadcast is focused on American elections, which are important but not the only thing,” he says. “We will also stress the global context in the classes. For example, we will look at the other democratic nations and compare their electoral systems to the U.S. system.”
Crain says the event has already generated a great deal of excitement among the students and he hopes it will garner attention from future students as well.
“There is nothing like a learning experience in a live, under pressure environment to motivate students and get them interested in politics,” he says. “This is something we hope to have every two years to help attract prospective students, and it may also generate some national attention.”