YouTube videos to share student views online

Chloe McConnell Arts Editor

Whether providing informational videos in class, aiding procrastination in the Library or simply curing late-night boredom, YouTube has become an integral part of the Vassar community. Now College Relations is taking advantage of the two-way medium with a YouTube Contest and an enhanced Vassar YouTube channel.

Sponsored by Computing and Information Services, the Media Cloisters and College Relations, the contest asks students to produce a two- to five-minute YouTube video that best represents the spirit and quality of life on the Vassar campus. The videos, due May 6, must use soundtracks of non-copyrighted or open-source music and should be submitted on a CD or DVD to the Media Cloisters. All current Vassar students may participate.

Editorial Director Julia Van Develder explained that the contest is seeking to reveal Vassar’s quirky, hip and intriguing qualities to both prospective students and the general public. “We’ve seen some very good work from student videographers and filmmakers, and we’re hoping that this will inspire them to turn their lens on Vassar,” Van Develder said.

Media Cloisters Manager Baynard Bailey ’91 developed the contest to share students’ creative experiences with the general public. Bailey explained that student filmmakers already upload YouTube videos of Vassar, so College Relations is simply promoting their material.

“Students have their own way of expressing things—it’s stylish, it’s useful, it’s fashionable,” Bailey said. “We have a tradition of incredible aesthetic skills in filmmaking.”

Van Develder explained that Vassar’s enhanced YouTube channel sparked student interest in the contest. Originally, Van Develder posted promotional videos on a traditional YouTube site entitled “Matthew Vassar.” When Vassar’s Alumnae/i Quarterly published an article on the new site, it caught the attention of Hunter Walk ’95, who works for YouTube’s development team. Hunter helped establish the connection between College Relations and the enhanced nonprofit YouTube channel.

The new channel provides more bandwidth than a traditional YouTube account, so higher quality and longer videos can be stored online. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley, among others, also have YouTube channels, but Vassar is the first of its peer institutions to establish an enhanced Web site.

Bailey, who has taught both drama and information technology since he graduated from Vassar, supports the emerging YouTube and podcast culture on college campuses. He promotes the idea that content created by students and faculty should contribute to how the campus is perceived by outsiders.

“Students and alumnae/i are best able to articulate what Vassar is to whomever is interested,” he said. Bailey foresees faculty uploading their course information online to both entice prospective students and inform current students. “Video is big—we are going to see a lot more professors using video, not only to look at, but to make themselves,” Bailey said.

Since today’s media-savvy high school students are some of the heaviest contributors to the YouTube culture, Bailey believes that more user-generated video materials will interest them in coming to Vassar. Prospective students will be able to access the enhanced channel through the Vassar Web site.

“This contest would be most useful if a lot of people participated,” said film major Dan Savage ’10. “That is the only way it would show all the sides of Vassar—students should portray Vassar thoughtfully and accurately.”

The judges of the contest came from diverse sections of the Vassar community: Professor of Film Kathleen Man, President of the Vassar Filmmakers and a winner of the 2007 Insomnia Film Festival Brian Paccione ’09 and Vice President of College Relations Susan DeKrey. The videos will be judged and compiled independently by College Relations, and the results will be announced by May 16. The grand prize winner will receive a $600 gift certificate to the Vassar Computer Store, and four honorable mentions will win $50 gift certificates to the Computer Store.

The five prize-winning films will be showcased on the YouTube channel and screened at an event next fall. If the contest is successful, Bailey plans to expand the structure next year with different categories concerning specific topics.

So, stop gazing at “Charlie Bit Me” and “Panda Sneeze” and start creating your own YouTube production that depicts your personal Vassar experience.