Scholarship in Action (SIA) seems to have a decent percentage of students at SU confused. Chancellor Nancy Cantor, on the school Web site, says SIA is, ‘a university where excellence is connected to ideas, problems, and professions in the world – a place where excellence is tested in the marketplace.’

When giving an example of this, Cantor is as clear and specific as Barack Obama is about his policies during a campaign speech: not very.

But a concrete example of SIA can be found in the form of the first annual ECAROcon Symposium, which will be hosted by a number of computer art students in the School of Visual and Performing Arts.

The ECAROcon Web site describes the conference as a chance for various professionals in the computer art industry that specialize in movie and video game graphics to speak at the university. It will be held on April 19 at 11 a.m. in Stolkin Auditorium.

Speakers include past and current employees of big-time companies such as Dream Quest Images, Inc., which has worked on movies such as ‘Flubber’ and ‘Inspector Gadget.’

‘I wish we had something like this two years ago when I went to SU,’ Andrew Lewitin, one of the speakers of the conference and 2006 SU alumnus, said in a telephone interview. ‘It’s really a perfect example of what students can do when they set goals for themselves in order to achieve something this big.’

Lewitin, who works for Filmworks/FX in Santa Monica, Calif., didn’t decide to attend until recently, when he learned the magnitude of the conference.

It makes sense that Lewitin was unaware of the event’s importance. He lives across the country. We live where the symposium is taking place. There have been no e-mails making the campus aware, a limited amount of flyers and an almost nonexistent anticipation from those outside of ECAROcon, according to the leaders of the event.

It is a shame that students’ achievements may often get overlooked by not only peers, but also the school in general. This probably isn’t the first student-run organization to get ignored.

‘I really don’t think we get enough credit as we should,’ said Scott Yapp, a junior computer art major and associate director of the symposium. ‘This was started by computer art majors about a year ago. It is run totally by students. We’re trying to get a feel for the industry, and this conference is an extension of that.’

Student initiative, when done correctly, is one of the most gratifying things that can happen to any campus. It should cause a ripple of satisfaction for all students, knowing that our colleagues have made something significant from a small idea.

‘We got the money through the VPA program,’ Yapp said. ‘They were really in support of our whole project, so we were really fortunate that they could help us out.’

The mission statement on the ECAROcon Web site states: ‘We strive to show the fusion of art, innovation and technology, as it exists in both academic and industry-driven environments, to both students, professionals and the general public.’

If you go back to the ‘vision statement’ of Scholarship in Action, you’ll find it eerily similar to this one.

The difference between the two is ECAROcon paints a clearer picture. It shows the result of what happens when students turn their interests into a reality to achieve something that reaches outside of the campus.

The students’ goal is to show how the computer art industry works, both here and outside of SU. It took a year of nonstop effort. Whether or not computer art is your interest, we as a student body should be proud.

Al Ortiz is a junior writing major. His columns appear every Friday. He can be reached at asortiz@syr.edu.

Published on April 10, 2008 at 12:00 pm