Yeshiva College is certainly not known for a diverse selection of majors. Throughout the past few weeks, however - as students have begun anticipating the Fall 2001 semester - much talk has circled around the possibility of creating a more official and more extensive Department of Communications. With the assistance of Yeshiva College Dean Norman Adler and Associate Dean Joyce Jesionowski, faculty and students alike are now in the process of proposing a larger selection of communications classes in the course catalogue, looking toward the formation of a communications major as their ultimate goal.

Currently, YC offers only a handful of courses entitled "Communication," all of which are listed within the rubric of the Speech Department. Whereas other courses in film, language, journalism, and media are increasingly being suggested to the administration as possible future offerings, it was not until recently that the deans have commenced work with students to incorporate existing courses with new suggestions under the field of communications.

Jesionowski, having graduated from college with a degree in communications, has been very active in trying to expedite the process that would officially designate "communications" courses in the catalog. Lists of possible future courses have already been proposed to the deans, who assure students that the courses will soon be incorporated into the YC schedule. According to Jesionowski, the administration has been listening to the students' requests and has been meeting to organize the communications field in the best manner possible. The outcome of these meetings, for the time being, has been to "develop [the proposed major] in the social sciences and extend it to the arts and computer sciences."

Unfortunately, as Jesionowski pointed out, creating an official Communications Department and enlarging it would require a large amount of funding in order to ensure its prosperity. In order to keep up with technologically advanced Communications Departments in colleges nationwide, she explained, YC would have to designate media laboratories for specified areas of the field that demand hi-tech equipment. Both she and Adler, in fact, have been attempting to allocate money for the necessary supplies. But as Jesionowski summed up, since we are only a small liberal arts school, "having a communications major means developing lots of resources which costs lots of money."

But there are some who doubt the administrative commitment to progress on the issue. Yeshiva College junior Yitz Brilliant recounted having spoken with many of the deans and faculty in hope of extending the boundaries of the inadequate department for quite some time. "When I transferred from the University of Maryland to YU, Dean Adler told me that they were starting a Communications Department," he recalled. Unfortunately, Brilliant, laments, he has yet to see his efforts come to fruition. He has met with Jesionowski several times in the past few semesters, but has not noticed any concrete progress from his efforts. According to both he and Dr. Anthony Beaukas, Professor of Speech and Drama in YC, funding is not the primary issue preventing the creation of a more impressive Communications Department. In fact, even after Beaukas had signed an unofficial contract with the deans committing some ten students to a proposed film course, he claims that nothing was done to ensure that the course be offered.

Labeling the deans efforts as uncooperative, Brilliant asserted that putting off any progress would not help the issue. "If the groundwork isn't laid now, I don't know that there will be enough committed students to fight the red tape and see it through in later semesters." He feels that something must be done now, even if that only means enlisting one film class in the course catalogue.

Jesionowski, attempting to justify the long delays, responded that "it's not just a matter of ad-hoc renting [of] equipment and offering a course. We want to do something more permanent that student will be able to take advantage of." Nonetheless, it appears as if the students have been less than satisfied with the efforts of the administration in creating a Communications Department. Although acknowledging the current absence of a major or minor in communications, Jesionowski defiantly asserted that she does foresee one in the future. She did add, however, that for the time being, whereas a small program will not guarantee a student a job in television, it may jumpstart an internship or entry-level job in the field of media, possibly leading a student on a path to receiving a masters in the field of communications.