Category: Boston

Tiffany: COM Open House!

Congratulations to those who were recently accepted to apart of the COM Class of 2017! You have now been faced with the important decision of where you should attend college and spend the next four years. On Saturday, April 13th and 20th, COM is having our Open House events for our admitted students. Even if you’ve already visited BU before, coming to these Open House events could be a major game changer and help you decide whether BU is the school for you or not.

Four years ago when I was a senior in high school, I came to COM Open House having little knowledge about BU and COM and quite honestly, only came because my mother insisted. To me, the Open House event seemed like it was nothing more than a basic college visit. Little did I know at the time, I was very wrong.

On April 13th and 20th, you’ll not only be able to walk around our campus, you’ll also be given insight into so much more than that, specifically that is relevant to the college you’ve been admitted into. You’ll hear all about COM from the Dean himself, meet the department chairs who lead their respective programs, have lunch with my fellow COM Ambassadors and myself in one of our student dining halls, and have the opportunity to pick the brains of a panel of students regarding any questions that you might have.

I came into Open House four years ago with very little interest in COM because I didn’t really know what COM was all about. But when I was on my flight home back to California and reflecting on the weekend I had just spent at BU and in Boston, I knew that attending the Open House event was a good idea. It is because of Open House that I made my decision to attend college at BU. As I finish out my last semester here at BU four years later as a graduating senior, I’m sure glad I made the decision that I did.

Open House is a great opportunity to not just see the campus, but more importantly talk to students and professors about their experiences. Listening to these testimonies could really help you get insight into what its like to be a student at BU and COM and decide for yourself whether you could see yourself in those shoes.

COM Class of 2017, I hope to meet you at either of our Open House events this month and look forward to seeing you here on our campus soon!

Steph: Jamba Juice Selections for Spring!

With the temperature hitting 61 degrees today, I'm feeling inspired to blog about one of the best Spring treats out there: smoothies! In case you haven't noticed, Jamba Juice finally opened its doors under Warren last week. Here are my favorite flavors that I recommend trying for Spring!

Banana Berry: Made with bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberry sherbet, all those berries will make you feel like you're frolicking through a field in the sunshine.

Caribbean Passion: This tropical blend of strawberries, peaches, passionfruit-mango juice and orange sherbet will get you in the mood for summer, which is right around the corner!

Apple 'n Greens: This is not your typical smoothie. Made with apple-strawberry and green veggies, it get you going and give you your daily dose of fruits and veggies in delicious smoothie form!

Pomegranate Paradise: This smoothie, my personal favorite, is the perfect blend of strawberries, peaches, and mangos mixed in pomegranate juice. Absolutely wonderful for sipping in class.

Now that it's finally warm outside, grab one of these delicious smoothies and hit the COM Lawn! See you there!

 

Taylor: Housing Near COM!

Hello again! As the semester spirals to a close small letters plague university mailboxes announcing housing selection dates and times. Last year I panicked at the notice reminding me that I needed to choose a new residential area BUT there are so many cool housing options. Here’s what I consider the top four places to live if you want to neighbor COM:

1. Warren Towers- One of the largest resident halls in the country, Warren is probably the most convenient choice. A bit more of a community oriented environment Warren typically houses a vast majority of underclassmen. Major Pros: It’s a brisk 3-minute walk directly to COM.

2. 575 Commonwealth – Nearing the newly opened dining hall and resource center, Marciano Commons, this larger dormitory typically called ‘HOJO’ has a bit classier sway. The room types, like many larger dormitories, range from singles, doubles, and triples but all have private bathrooms. Most students choice this residence due to its history of being a former hotel.

3. Kilachand Hall- Formerly known as Shelton Hall is probably the most central dormitory in terms of being near Fenway, Newbury, and COM. Most students select this dorm due to its suite-like structure. Although many adore the view from the Student Village residences located in west campus the study lounge of Kilachand has a remarkable view of the river as well.

4. Nearing Brownstones- although applying for specialty community residence is a separate process you won’t be disappointed. Students usually apply for residences that envelope their passion or interest (For instance there are language houses and a common ground house).

Again, there are so many options to choose from. The BU Housing page provides a fantastic interactive tour of residences that you should also check out!

 

Kaitlin: COM is a Buffet

I’m sitting here, scratching my head, trying to decide what to write about for this blog post, and it hit me.  COM is a freaking buffet table.

And no, I’m not talking about those late night Chinese all you can eat buffets, I’m talking about a real classy, high end buffet table with all kinds of exotic foods.

Where am I going with this?

Okay, okay.  So opposed to a sit down dinner, where a server brings you what you want until you tell him to stop, a buffet table is spread nicely in a convenient spot in the room, ready for people to take what they need or want, when they need or want it.  Both options can leave you stuffing your face until you’re required to loosen your belt, but there’s a very vital difference between the first and the second:  for the second option, you’ve gotta help yourself.

So often, we look externally for some sort of perfect opportunity or divine inspiration.  We have mentors and idols and friends and family (the waiters in my metaphor) who we hope will guide us to where we want to be (they bring us the seared duck and caviar), when all along, we have the capacity to get there on our own.

What we constantly forget is our own serving skills.  We’ve gone through that training that teaches you how to correctly set a table or pour a glass of wine without spilling it.  Try to take some time and realize that you have the potential to be your own greatest motivator.  Create those chances of a lifetime for yourself, instead of waiting for them to be served to you on a silver platter.

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve really been enjoying my junior year at BU, especially because I’ve began to really find myself among all of the craziness that the city delivers.  COM especially offers out so many appetizing chances to succeed that, at times, can be a bit overwhelming.  What I’ve learned recently is to not miss the tasty treats that sit right under your nose.  I’ve quit complaining and wondering when my chance to shine was going to come, and I got the hell up and chased it myself.

Take whatever you care for from that table, but see if you can get up and walk there with the help of your own two feet.

 

Richie: Approaching Graduation

As a senior, the reality of graduation being just around the corner has definitely began to hit me. I know many of you may still be in you sophomore or junior years, or even better, freshman year. But, graduation is something we’re all going to have to face at one point. The fears and the excitement that come from it are very much a reality.

A few weeks ago I started to experience a mini-crisis about post-graduation life. Where would I live? Would I have to return back home, would I even be able to afford going anywhere else? Where would I work? Would I hate my job? Would I even get a job? Should I try staying in school longer to avoid any of these real questions?

After about a week of this, I somehow came to a point where everything felt good. I’ve started to become extremely excited about my graduation. I started to think that although I may not be completely positive about everything that’ll happen once I’m done at BU, I’m excited for it.

I guess we have to see it as not the end of something, but the beginning of something else. I remember in high school hearing from people the tired and cliche line “these are the best years of your life.” I didn’t know why but I used to hate hearing that so much. It was so fatalistic to me. So absolutely tragic. Like we were all doomed to a hopeless life the minute we left high school. Seemed like a self-fulfilling prophecy if I had ever one (props to COM 101 for that term). But I got to college, and had an incredible time. Made amazing friends, challenged myself in filmmaking, and took classes completely out of my comfort level. I learned about things like sailing, acting, and was able to sharpen my directing skills.  I traveled to Europe for the first time and got to intern at the world’s largest film festival.

High school was incredible, but it wasn’t the best years of my life. And I’ve come to realize college won’t be either. Make every year you live the best year of your life. There’s no reason to look ahead with fear thinking, “I’ve already experienced the best, so there’s nothing else to do now.” Reinvent the way you look at life everyday. Challenge yourself and bask in the glory of falling down or failing at something. I realized, I’m not exactly sure what the future holds for me, but something about that excites me. Because it can be absolutely anything. And whatever it is, it excites me to frustrated at times, but it will be my job that I earned by myself, and my job that I use to learn more from. It’ll be my loans I pay off every month and nobody else’s. Something about that excites me. I feel almost grateful to have these as all mine. It’ll be just another experience for me to learn from, for me to become myself again.

Don’t we all have to be a little lost so that we can find ourselves? Weren’t we all a little lost when we got into college? Wasn’t it exciting to settle into that life, find your routine and rhythm, and then sometimes shake it up a bit? Besides, I’m graduating from a great university, learned an enormous amount about film since I first came here, and have taken some amazing internship experiences from the whole process. Wherever I end up can’t be that bad.

Wherever you guys are in you education, enjoy every moment of it. I know I’ve been guilty of living a certain year and thinking, “man last year was so much better.” We all seem to look back and think of how good we had it, but if we took the time to realize how good we have it right now, then we would never have to look back in the first place. Maybe all the points I’m making are clearly understood by most of us already. But I guess we all need to have it reiterated from time to time. We’ve all got to be told every once in a while, “It’s alright.” I’ve finally come to a good place in viewing my graduation, and look back at my time here extremely fondly. I hope when you all reach this point, you can all feel the same, and be excited on what comes next.

 

Kate: Welcome COM Class of 2017!

Can you believe it is almost April?! I don't hate it. It means it's getting warmer (though the snow on the ground would beg to disagree) and most people's midterms are over.  And it also means that admissions decisions have gone out! I want to congratulate all of you who have been admitted to BU and the College of Communication! I have already gotten to meet a few of you this week but I hope I can meet a few more as you come for tours (Monday-Friday at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm!) and our Open Houses on the 13th and 20th.  You will probably be getting a letter from me this week but I just wanted to share a little bit more today.

I sincerely encourage you to check out the BU COM 2017 Facebook page, the BU COM Student Services Facebook page, the BU COM 2017 Twitter, the COM Student Services Twitter, the #BU2017 hashtag, and our YouTube channel.  And if you don't have Twitter or heaven forbid Facebook, get one.  Now. We like social media in this school and it will be the best way to keep up-to-date with information about everything.

I also hope you'll look around this site and our blog to answer a lot of questions.  The best information is coming from people who are living it, right? Well at least that's what a parent told me today and I think it is right on the money.  Get to know COM through us, your COM Ambassadors.  Reach out, ask questions.  That's what we're here for.

Like I said, congratulations.  Welcome to COM!

Abby: The Best Things in Life are Bought With a Student Discount

Right behind senior citizens, college students receive some of the best discounts. So you might as well take advantage of it while you can! Movie theatres and most retail stores offer a student discount with your BU ID.  But the best is when you find something absolutely FREE to students!  Many unexpected places offer a student discount, so I have made it a habit now to make sure I ask.  Here are some of the best discounts/student deals that I have come across:

The Boston Symphony Orchestra Card-

This one is my favorite- You have access to not only Boston Symphony Orchestra Performances, but also touring opera and ensemble concerts (and I love any excuse to dress up). The BSO had a program that offers unsold tickets to regular season shows and performances to college student for free.  They require that you have previously purchased a $25 BSO College card, but at BU Student Services located in 100 Bay State you can pick up this card for free.

http://www.bso.org/brands/bso/education-community/young-musicians/bso-college-card.aspx

Art Museums-

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston offer free admission to Boston University Students. I have been to both several times for fun and for class projects.   The MFA Boston is my favorite so far because of their large amount of Boston based artists.  But ask me tomorrow and my favorite will probably be The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for its eclectic intermixing of art and installments.  I have not visited The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston but it is next on my list.  They have reduced $10 tickets with a student ID.

http://www.mfa.org/visit

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/visit/hours_and_admission

http://www.icaboston.org/visit/hours-and-admission/

Fenway Regal Cinema-

At the GSU Information Desk, BU Students can get tickets for movies that have been showing at the Fenway Regal Cinema for two weeks or more for $6.50.  If you want to see a new release, all of the Regal Cinemas in Boston have student priced tickets.

http://www.regmovies.com/Theatres/Theatre-Folder/Regal-Fenway-Stadium-13-RPX-5591

 

Hannah: The Balancing Act

As one quickly learns, college is primarily a balancing act. Suddenly you are expected to maintain your grades, stay healthy, and make a new life for yourself. There will never be enough hours in the day, but hopefully these quick tips can ease the time crunch.

First, find a system that helps you keep track of anything important going on from breaks to assignments to midterms. I recommend making a calendar. By keeping all of my important dates and assignments in one place, there is less room for mistakes. I carry a day planner with me at all times and each morning, I write my schedule for the day on a big dry erase board. Somehow I still miss the occasional Spanish worksheet, but for the most part, this has been fool proof for me. My roommate on the other hand uses color coded sticky notes; green for homework assignments; pink for projects; orange for important dates. Then she papers her desk with them. Everybody has a different way to go about it, but organization is a key component to maintaining balance.

Next, take advantage of office hours. They are an asset. It may seem counter productive to cut extra time out of your day to go ramble on with a professor, but in reality talking over upcoming essays and assignments with him or her will only expedite the completion process. Not to mention, professors like to see that you’re invested in the class! A little extra attention can go a long way. If you build a nice repertoire, those relationships can be great connections and recommendations for future internships and job opportunities.

Next is the issue of making time to keep in shape while keeping on top of classwork. Everybody loves FitRec, but sometimes there just isn’t time to make it to the gym (especially for those east campus residents.) But instead of skipping a workout altogether, find some dorm room workouts on sites like Pinterest or Tumblr. For me personally, the Undressed Skeleton blog has become my college fitness bible. Not to mention, this blogger includes dorm room recipes that never require anything more than a microfridge. This leads to my next tip. Everyone has the occasional late night snack binge, but keep healthy food rather than your typical junk food. It will at least curve your appetite and you don’t have to feel so guilty.

Finally don’t procrastinate. This is a dangerous custom that many fall under, but fight the urge! If you get your work done now rather than later, you will only have more time later. So enough procrastinating by reading this blog post, go get to work!

 

Jon: SXSW Interactive – Celebrating the Future of Advertising and Technology

Hello again! BU got back from break on Monday, and everyone will be catching up on their adventures over the past week. While many students departed for popular collegiate destinations such as Cancun, Miami, and California, a group of digital media students and professionals gathered in Austin, Texas for the South-by-Southwest (SXSW) Interactive festival. When it first began, SXSW Interactive was relatively unknown, and was easily dwarfed by its big brother SXSW Music and Film festivals. However, Interactive’s popularity has risen in recent years as digital media continues to dominate everyday life, and now the festival sees a massive turnout every year. Part conference, part trade show, and part spring break party, topics stretch the limits of the (broad) realm of digital media. I was lucky enough to attend this year with two other BU students, and while I could spend this whole post talking about the full size model of NASA’s new Hubble replacement, the James Webb telescope that was on display there (it is SO COOL), I’m going to share the top three predictions for the future of marketing that I took away from SXSW Interactive.

 

1)    Ad agencies and tech companies are going to become closer partners than ever before – Google’s ArtCopyCode initiative that they were promoting made this more than clear. On display were a pair of talking shoes that gave the wearer feedback on their actions, a road trip app developed in partnership with Volkswagen, and an effort Google is making to help filmmakers re-imagine their work for new web canvases. Each project was interesting, but the bigger message was clear: digital technology is here to stay, and marketers better start thinking about how they can create compelling interactive experiences.

2)    Physical products and experience are the new digital – Records, CDs, personal letters – these Mesozoic objects could make a comeback as a response to the increasingly digital world. Flourishing record sales could be written off as a trendy cultural phenomenon, but many see this as a symptom of a deeper human demand for physical experiences. Watch for brands looking to create new physical materials and events over the next few years, as consumers begin to taper their computer usage.

3)    Be diverse – If SXSW drove one point home for me, it was this one. From the attendees, who quite literally came from all over the world, to the range of topics (I attended a talk on voice acting for video games and Al Gore’s keynote on the future in the same weekend), SXSW Interactive is an incredibly diverse event. Even though SXSW is just a microcosm of humanity, it reflects and shapes the larger world. Borders, both digital and physical, are crumbling. At the end of the day, those who embrace and celebrate diversity are the ones who will flourish.

And now you have my two cents on SXSW! Thanks for reading, and good luck with the last push before Summer!

Until Next Time,

Jon

 

Kevin: Movie Locations Around Boston

Now that the weather is getting nice, it’s the perfect time to get out and explore Boston. So why not go get some pictures taken at famous movie locations around Boston and make your friends jealous?

1) Good Will Hunting

There are plenty of places around Boston you could visit for this one, but the best place to snap a picture has to be the bench where Robin Williams and Matt Damon sat while Robin Williams earned his Oscar. You might’ve seen this movie, but I’ll bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel.

http://staticmass.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/will_3.jpg

2) 21

Maybe this movie wasn’t as iconic as other Boston movies, but you won’t have to go far to find some famous spots. A lot of this movie was actually filmed on BU campus, so you could head over to the basement of Mugar library, where Jim Sturgess studied, or the BU castle, where the alumni event scene was filmed, or even over to Towers, where his dorm was. The majority of the interior scenes were actually filmed at BU, not MIT, so there are plenty of places to spot in this one!

3) Cheers

So the bar technically wasn’t IN the TV show, but it did inspire it, so that has to count, right? At 84 Beacon Street, right off the common, you’ll find the bar the famous sitcom was named after (don’t get fooled by the one at Faneuil Hall, that one was made later).

http://www.celebrateboston.com/photo/cheers-boston-sign.jpg

4) Modern Family

In the episode where Haley is being moved into college, the exterior shot of her dorm is actually BU’s Towers. Wonder if she ran into Jim Sturgess at all?

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbpl6nvn6l1qlk3zuo1_500.png

5) The Town

Another one from Ben Affleck, The Town, is filled with Boston locations. If you head over to 111 Dorchester Street in south Boston you can get a picture at Thornton’s Flowers, the nefarious flower shop.

http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/t/Town_flower_shop.jpg