Student Government Vice President Shannon Bates will be leaving town for four and one-half weeks to take part in the Manship School of Mass Communication’s Magical Media Tour.
Bates will study abroad in London for three weeks, then travel to Italy for one week.
Bates said leaving town should not have any negative effects on her efficiency as vice president.
“I’m comfortable with my decision,” Bates said. “With the technology available, it will be like I’m still [in Baton Rouge].”
Bates said she will rely on Web castings and e-mails to stay involved with SG.
“I’ll be bringing my laptop with me,” Bates said. “And [SG President] Colorado [Robertson] and I both have Web cameras, so I can still be active in the meetings.”
Bates said her focus for the summer is meeting with student organizations and bringing their concerns to SG. She said she is confident that she will still be able to accomplish her goal.
“A lot of the meetings will be before I leave,” Bates said. “I will still be in contact will all of the communication heads. A lot of them also have Web casting.”
Bates said she has taken the necessary steps to prepare SG for her absence.
“I’m leaving my assistant a list of contacts so he can keep me updated,” Bates said. “We already have a plan of action for when I get back.”
Bates said she did have some hesitations about leaving the country.
“I did wonder about leaving,” Bates said. “I met with administrators and I talked with students, but I am a student here, too. Going abroad and seeing another culture is part of your education.”
Bates said she originally planned to participate in the first Magical Media Tour session, which left on May 27 and stayed a week longer than the second session, but chose to postpone her trip.
“I wanted to stay to make sure I had a good grasp on the issues,” Bates said.
Robertson said he supports Bates’ decision.
“I don’t think it will affect too much,” Robertson said. “We’ve scheduled all of our meetings so she can be included.”
Robertson said there will actually be benefits to Bates participating in the program.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Robertson said. “We’ve been talking about improving the study abroad program, so now she’ll be able to meet students who are involved with that.”
Robertson said SG is already relying heavily on e-mails to communicate and conduct business.
“Probably about half our staff is out of town,” Robertson said. “Just like anyone else, they have internships or they go home for the summer.”
—-Contact Katie Kennedy at [email protected]