Students to take Vietnam trip
Campus Times
October 10, 1997
Professors Dr. George Keeler and Randy Miller from the Communications
Department will be leading a group of students in two-week trip to Vietnam
and Thailand during January Interterm 1998.
The Communications Department has offered trips since 1992. The first
trip was to Brazil, then Costa Rica and finally a "Media Across the
Nation" trip in the U.S.
"We have found that it is important for our students to have an
international perspective when it comes to media," said Dr. Keeler,
chair of the Communications Department.
When the Communications Department travels with a team of students,
they tour as a practicing journalist on assignments and work hard.
"I have worked on assignments in tropical heat and primitive conditions,"
said Dr. Keeler. "And we have turned out with professional work that
has appeared in national publications and videos that have been shown across
the country."
The students and teachers will work together in the field. They will
have different projects depending on the student's interests.
Dr. Keeler said, "Mine is photography and writing, but I have had
students who have done art or sociology experiments."
There is no prerequisites for the trip to Vietnam. All the students
needs is an open mind for different cultures and customs, and be willing
to explore and be adventurous.
"The trip sounds exciting because we are going to be able to interact
with people from other cultures," said freshman Nune Gazdhyan.
"I hope to provide students with an overview and basic understanding
of some of Vietnam's history and culture, with particular focus on the years
of the "American War," as it is known in Vietnam," said Miller,
managing editor of Together, a journal published by World Vision International
in Monrovia, and a part-time instructor for the department..
"This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the historical
sites first-hand," said freshman Mike Anklin.
Miller also wants the students to get a feel of what the country is
today.
"I believe it is important for students to have an understanding
of what took place in Vietnam," said Miller.
A slide show was provided Wednesday to inform students about what is
expected of them, and to go over the itinerary for the adventure that awaits
them.
First, the group will fly into Bangkok and spend four days there. There
they will visit temples, the Hard Rock Café, take a boat tour, meet
with several journalists and photographers, and people who volunteered service
in Vietnam during the war. From Bangkok, they fly out to Hanoi.
In Hanoi they will spend about two days and meet with educators, and
representatives from World Vision and visit Ho Chi Minh's museum and house.
Their next destination will be Hue, were they will be given a tour by
a private driver and be taken to the citadel, the site of one of the worst
battles of the Tet offensive in 1968.
Next will be Da Nang, where American troops first landed in Vietnam
in 1965. Some time will also be spent at China Beach and Marble Mountain.
Continuing the journey, the group will go to Saigon, where they will
make a stop at the port city of Hoi An, noted for its architecture and craft
shops. The group will then visit the site of the My Lai massacre.
Going down the coastal city of Quang Ngai, the team plans to meet with
a Lady Borton, a volunteer during the war. From here they will move on to
Quy Nhon, Da Lat, and back to Saigon. They will stop at the village of Di
Linh where Ted Studebaker served as agricultural assistant voluntarily for
two years and was killed at the beginning of the third year.
In Saigon, Miller will lead a walking tour before the group heads back
to Bangkok, where the team will return home.
Senior Veero Der-Karabetian said, "The opportunity for adventure
and traveling a foreign country to photograph the people and places is why
I am taking this trip."
The group will meet with people both here in the U.S. and in Vietnam.
Some of the people include Le Ly Hayslip, author of the book "When
Heaven and Earth Changed Places," which will also be a required text.
"My master's thesis focused on the nature of the relationship between
the media and the military from the Vietnam War through Persian Gulf War,"
said Miller.
"Our trips are adventure and we practice media on assignment,"
said Dr. Keeler.
With Miller's close relationship with Vietnam and Dr. Keeler's adventurous
soul, the trip will be one of remembrance.
Traveling together with the University of La Verne's group will be a
group from ULV's sister school of Manchester College in Indiana.
"My hope is that students will not see this trip as an end in itself,
but a beginning, an introduction to a new part of the world," said
Miller.
The estimated cost of the trip will be $2,200, which includes round-trip
airfare, room and food. By Monday, Oct. 20, half the total needs to be given
to Dr. Keeler to reserve a seat.
For further information, visit the Communications Department offices
in the Student Center or call Dr. Keeler at ext. 4294.
