Comfest is the annual event where the faculty of the Communication Department gathers to welcome new and current Communication Majors and Minors. This year Comfest had two new professors of the department present their research. The event moved from the Winter Park Institute to the Bush Auditorium this time around, garnering a much larger crowd than last year.
Dr. Joshua Hammonds was the first to speak with his presentation about privacy management and how and what people disclose with their closest peers or family.
Hammonds went on to say how his research had revealed interesting patterns between parents and their children. For example, some young adults would not disclose private information even though their relationship was very healthy. Others would only reveal private information to their mothers rather than their fathers.
He concluded with asking anyone interested in the idea of privacy management to talk to him for any kind of help or possible independent studies.
Next, Dr. David Painter presented his research in political communication. He specifically researched social media and the role it has on politics and political information.
His research had primarily focused on what kinds of social media receive the most political attention, where people learn recent political news from, and how effective social media is as a whole to promote campaigns. He also spoke about the effect that social media had on the Obama campaign and how it encouraged young voters to vote more so than ever before.
Dr. Painter ended with asking anyone with interest in this field to contact him for an independent study possibility.
After the speakers presented, a representative from the Communications Honors Society came up to speak about the association, how to join, and what benefits there are for joining the association.
The night ended with questions for the major, answered by the department’s chair, Anne Stone.
Many big questions were answered, such as the new structure and course load for the major, what courses to take early on, such as Research and Methods, and what to look for in the future of the Communication Major and Minor.
It seems that the Communication Department and its students are excited for the major’s new changes. The new research and interest paints a bright picture for Comfest 2016.
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