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Change is in the air. Film and Video is out. Now it’s Cinema Art and Science. No. Cinema Art & Science. No. Cinema Art + Science. There we go! Our film school has a new name and a new group of directors.

The last few weeks have been about preparing for a new semester. From prepping for class I love the first few weeks of school. This is when we get wined and dined by the department.

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One of the benefits of being a graduate student is that we can drink at our events. The graduate student happy hour was held at a local bar called Jimmy Green’s. With my drink ticket in hand, I mixed and mingled with the new directors and producers. The new students were in fine form because they had just finished their rigorous boot camp. The other reason I like the happy hour is because it is a chance to meet students outside of my department.

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The festivities didn’t end with the happy hour. The next week we had the departmental welcome reception at 1104 S. Wabash. The new faces sat up front, the second years were camped in the back, and the rest of us were peppered throughout the theater. The highlight of the welcome reception was the screening of the student films. We saw a recent thesis film, Girl with Child, directed by Maria Abraham. That one always brings a lump to my throat. We also saw four comedies from second year students Kyusik, Cooper, Hadeel, and C.J.

I’m excited to see what’s going to come from the next few weeks and what projects the vets and newbies will come up with this semester. I want to wish my fellow classmates good luck, Godspeed, and a low shooting ratio.