October 23, 2006

SIUC students nominated for Emmy awards

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A group of students from Southern Illinois University Carbondale is up for top television awards for their work on a local broadcasting program.

The students' work on WSIU-TV earned Emmy nominations in several categories during a ceremony Sept. 21 in St. Louis. Winners will be announced Saturday, Oct. 28 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in St. Louis.

The students are part of the Department of Radio-Television or Department of Cinema & Photography in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts at SIUC. The segments nominated appeared on alt.news.

The segments and students receiving nominations include:

• "Evil Dead: Beyond the Blood," which featured interviews with the special effects artists and cast members who worked on the horror movie. Jon Solita, a senior and the son of Mary Pekar of Manteno (1063 Aspen Drive) and Robert Solita of Peotone, produced the show.

• "The Sweatshirt Phenomenon," which explored the origins of the famous "COLLEGE" sweatshirt worn by the late actor John Belushi in the movie, "Animal House." Sophomores Tim Wilkerson, the son of Patrick and Debbie Wilkerson of Crystal Lake (3803 Spy Glass Ridge Road), and Sean Brown, son of Frank and Laurie Brown of Deerfield (1025 Hillside Ave.), co-produced the program.

• "Parkour: Never Look Back," which examined an urban extreme sport also known as "free running." Jared Kagel, a recent graduate from Bloomington and the son of David and Nancy Kagel (1507 Espy Drive), produced the show.

• "FTX: Field Training Exercise," which followed SIUC Air Force ROTC candidates during a three-day training event. Editors and co-producers include Kyle Tekiela, a junior and the son of Ken and Holly Tekiela of Bartlett (252 Village Lane); Adam Slutsky, a sophomore and son of Rael and Madeleine Slutsky of Deerfield (1405 Berkley Court); and Nicholas Karsten, a senior and son of Steve and Ann Karsten of Niles, Mich. (1550 Harrah Road).

•Students also received nominations for program graphics. They include Jordan Gzesh, a senior and son of Marla and Irwin Gzesh of Deerfield (274 Bristol Court); and Andrew Mitchell, a senior and son of Max and Betsy Mitchell of Champaign (2319 Venice Court), along with Brown, Solita, Tekiela and Wilkerson.

Enhancing nationally recognized programs whose graduates are in demand in the job market is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.CARBONDALE, Ill. — A group of students from Southern Illinois University Carbondale is up for top television awards for their work on a local broadcasting program.