Seven new bloggers share 'The Real Deal'

By Laura Camper - General Assignment Reporter

A new link has popped up on the UIS Web site in the past couple of weeks – a link to meet the UIS bloggers on the Real Deal Web site. So what's this all about? According Michelle Green, director of marketing and campus relations at UIS, the Real Deal is a recruitment tool she picked up at an education conference.

“The idea combines new technology and the age-old wisdom of letting students tell people what UIS is like,” says Green. The blogs are basically the online diaries of students that tell prospective students what life at UIS is like. The students can go online anytime of the day or night to make entries and once the bloggers get started, the site runs itself.

The site is modeled after a similar Web site used by Lewis and Clark College in Oregon . “I saw it and it lit a fire in my brain,” Green says. “This was too cool an idea to sit on.” After she returned from the conference, Green enlisted the help of Sherry Hutson, UIS Web site developer, and they had the site up and running for Fall 2004.

And who are the bloggers? Jordan Haley, Julian Borjas, Barb Olvera, Brad Ward, Allie Leight, Daniel McCarthy and Ashley Rook are the seven bloggers this year. They range from freshmen to seniors. Terry Bodenhorn and Heather Dell, director and assistant director of the Capital Scholars Honors Program, recommended the bloggers.

Sophomore Ashley Rook says she decided to be a blogger because she thought it would be an interesting experience. “I'm a com. (communication) student and I really like to write,” she says. Rook agrees that the blogs may draw in more students. “I think it gives high school seniors an idea what UIS is like so they might want to go here.”

At least three of the UIS bloggers already have experience in the blogosphere. Sophomores Allie Leight and Daniel McCarthy and freshman Julian Borjas have been blogging for a while on myspace.com and xanga.com.

“This isn't really anything new to me,” says Leight. “I decided to do it because I thought it would be a good way for other people to get a new perspective (of UIS students).”

Freshman Jordan Haley says that she thought that blogging would be a fun new experience and might help her meet new people. She hopes to “give an accurate picture of the average day-to-day life of a UIS student.”

Sophomore Daniel McCarthy says he wants people to see “that there exists a diverse group of students at UIS.” He also hopes to convey that UIS is a living and learning experience. “I have learned more about my own strengths and weakness from my experience at UIS than I have from any textbook.”

In the fall of 2006 new freshmen will be arriving and Green will find out if the blogs are an effective recruiting tool. But for now, the blogs are fun to read and they can give you an insight into your classmates lives, or at least give you something to gossip about.

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Patrick Redwood shows off his light saber and Jedi costume to friends at the Monster Bash Saturday night.

Resident Assistant Chris Wyant dresses up as a kissing booth during the Monster Bash in Lincoln Residence Hall on Saturday.

Seven new bloggers share 'The Real Deal'

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