Professor, Media & Cultural Studies
Dept. of Communication, Media & Performance
Allegheny College
Box 45. 520 North Main Street
Meadville, PA 16335
EMAIL: iroy@allegheny.edu
Creative Recouping
Students in the Spring 2022 "Introduction to Critical Media" course applied what we learned in the classroom to develop creative projects around re-energizing and healing community, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic fatigue and fallout.
Leaf Some Love
Using fun programming and social events, this group brought students together to participate in creating an interactive "community tree" to which they pinned "leaves" containing their stories of hope and positivity from experiences during the COVID lockdown.
Allegheny College Paws Alliance
Advocating a special interest house for community support pets that campus members can interact with and share, to reduce their social anxiety, stress, and depression from reduced social interactions and contact with peers.
Teachers of Tomorrow
The project recognizes the vital role of teachers as vital frontline workers, and uses social media and a website to motivate college students to pursue careers in education as a form of social activism.
More Amour
The past two years have been extremely tough for everyone and has made many feel disconnected and alone. "More Amour" aims to heal by re-connecting campus community members, showing appreciation for the "invisible" frontline workers who have kept this campus going, and creating color-coded safe socializing spaces across campus through the campaign's share-and-care programming.
S.M.I.L.E.
Project SMILE is a social media campaign that wants to help those who are struggling with social anxiety to overcome the stress that comes with making new friends in college. By encouraging the anonymous sharing of personal stories, it provides a supportive community that can help people find genuine support and friendships online.
Opening Doors
This project produced a website prototype that would drive people to explore local businesses. Taking the idea of the consumer citizen, the group explained how their initiatives could get community members to rally around local entrepreneurs and help shops open their doors again.