Chapman University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Television Writing and Production
Minor: Film Studies
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Pansexual Female

Summary

I’m in Greek life, I was on a [sports team] but quit that after freshman year.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

High School Experience: Public high school in Bend, OR with a graduating class of about 200 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Television Writing and Production
Minor: Film Studies

Extracurricular Activities: I’m in Greek life, I was on a [sports team] but quit that after freshman year.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Greek life has been amazing and is a reason I stayed at Chapman because of the girls I met and the connections I made through them. The [sports] team wasn’t the best experience which is why I quit, but I still met some great people through it.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
For my major and the rest of the majors in Dodge College, there’s a lot more hands-on work. For Television Writing and Production, there are not necessarily as many tests, but we have weekly quizzes and a lot of projects making short films or being on the set of a film. For Film Studies, that includes a lot of writing. We’ll write 10-page essays about the impact of a certain film or how a certain film was impacted by cultural standpoints and different things in history. Most of my classes have a lab, which is just watching a movie. Projects make up the bulk of the assignments. For example, editing a short film was a large portion of my grade this semester.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly academically?
They do a good job giving us hands-on experience and opportunities. They give us the material and professors to help guide us.
But, Dodge is known for being predominantly male-run and White, so a lot of times opportunities are given to White-male students. My major has a thesis where everyone in the senior class splits up and creates their own pilot. A lot of times, [people feel] female producers are skipped over because there are male producers who aren’t even more qualified. Chapman has a lot of racial issues too. [Recently, a student was arrested for being] disruptive and saying racist things in the classroom. Last year the film school had a poster that supported a racist film in the school. There was a whole protest to get it taken down, and eventually, they did but it took a lot of pushing. [Editor’s Note: We could not find articles referring to male students being selected over female students. In 2012, a female professor was paid $175,000 to settle a gender bias case where she felt she was passed over for tenure because of her gender. See The Panther Online article, “Black Students Don’t Think Chapman is a good fit. Here’s why” and article about the gender bias case, “Emails reveal allegations.”]
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
Depending on which program you’re in, it can be both. If you’re with film production students, they tend to think they’re competitive in the sense that they can’t help you with anything. But, a lot of people from my specific major are all helpful. We’re willing to go the extra mile to help people make their own short films.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re extremely accessible. I’ll email professors and ask a question and they’ll call me to talk about it.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I came in as a Business major and realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do, I just thought it would get me [a high paying career]. I realized being in Southern California and at Chapman, there is so much opportunity to be in the film industry. I ended up applying to the Dodge [film school] and got in.
What has been your favorite part of studying in the Dodge Film School academically?
I’ve taken two horror film classes and the professors for those have been so excited and passionate about the material. Both of the classes were fun for me because I was interested in it but the professors also made it even more fun.

Reasons to Attend

1) You’ll get a great education.
2) You’ll meet a lot of people that want you to succeed.
3) It’s in a very good location.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you don’t like smalls schools.
2) If you really like sports, they don’t really care about them that much.
If you want a school with good public transportation. It’s pretty difficult without a car.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Henley Hall with two roommates.
Sophomore: Off-campus houses with two roommates
Junior: Off-campus houses with four roommates
How was transitioning from your hometown in Oregon to Orange, CA in terms of location?
It was definitely a culture shock. Down here there’s a mixture of people being both diverse, out, and open, but there’s also still a lot of homophobia and racism. Location-wise I loved it because there’s a lot of big cities close by and there’s the beach. The only thing that was a little difficult was the weather. It’s always sunny and there aren’t a lot of trees. [See The Guardian article “‘They just don’t fit in’: UCLA study links racism and segregation in Orange County.”]
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
On campus, I’ve felt relatively safe. There were a few instances each semester throughout my time at Chapman that would make me feel a little less safe for a period of time. I know that Orange County has a high sex trafficking rate. If you stick with groups of people, you’re totally fine, but that’s always a concern in the back of my mind when I go to stores off-campus.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I always have film sets on the weekends so we have to be up super early, and I work at a coffee shop so sometimes I’ll have to do that. If you can find them, there are decent parties. There are also lots of bars nearby, especially in Newport Beach.
Who hosts the parties? Where are they located?
They are usually hosted by one of the fraternities in a house nearby. I live next to a fraternity house and sometimes they throw parties.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife at Chapman?
There’s not a huge impact. For guys not in a fraternity, there’s not much to do. For girls, you can usually find something but it’s not the most fun. Sometimes the sports teams will throw parties, but they’re usually a lot smaller. [About 25% of men join fraternities and 48% of women are in sororities.]
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
I go to movies a lot, or I’ll go to the beach.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Chapman? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
For myself, they’re honestly perfect. If I want to go out to a party I totally can, but they’re not so often and huge that they’re disruptive to campus or the people. If you’re looking to find a party school, Chapman isn’t your place. Most people here have a similar interest in learning.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
At a party freshman year.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Chapman?
Everyone is super social, especially if you’re in Greek life. You have everyone in your organization, but everyone hangs out with people in other fraternities and sororities. My major is pretty friendly so I know a lot of people in that too.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Our school has [7,300 people] and only [125] are Black, which is really unfortunate. We need a lot more representation of different ethnicities at our school. A lot of my Black friends have had to deal with getting used to this intense, very White climate freshman year. For the LGBTQ communities, for the most part, people within that community feel relatively safe and included on campus. People don’t really single them out. Most people are beyond homophobia on campus. It’s definitely a smaller community, but they’re included. [The undergraduate population is about 51% White, 15% Hispanic, 1.7% Black, 13% Asian, and 4% international.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
There’s no separation. My best friends aren’t in Greek life, and most of my sorority sisters have friends not in Greek life. If you’re a guy not in Greek life, you’re not allowed to go to fraternity parties because they won’t let you in. For girls, there isn’t really a difference if you’re in a sorority or not.
How do you like the size of Chapman in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 7,300 students at Chapman.]
It’s a great size for learning. You walk around and basically know everyone on campus by your junior year. Even if you don’t know their name you know their face. Sometimes I wish there were more people on campus to meet, but overall, it’s a pretty good size because the classroom sizes provide the best learning environment. [The average class size at Chapman is 23 students.]
How would you describe the LGBTQ+ community on campus? How strong is it?
It’s decent. It’s not that strong, but there is a strong group of men and women who bond together.
Do people generally seem happy with Chapman by senior year? Do people leave loving Chapman?
I think most people have not liked it the first semester or year, but if they stick it out, they end up loving it by their sophomore year. I’m not sure if that’s adjusting to college in general, or if it’s actually something about Chapman.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Yes. I got a job at the coffee shop from a girl who went to Chapman, I got a job and an internship through people who went to Chapman, and I got my most recent internship through someone from Chapman too.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I’ve used Handshake. I’ve also met with professors in Dodge that help me with my resume because depending on your major they typically know how a resume should look.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’m currently learning Avid, I learned Adobe Premiere, and a sound program used for making sounds. I’ve learned a lot about the Adobe Creative Cloud programs. I’ve also learned Excel.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
I have used financial aid, but they didn’t give me the best offer. They are fairly easy to work with.