Though they may not get a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, the Class of 2007 is ready for their close-up, and a group of students is taking a close look at the figures and events that will shape the year.
University students are preparing a documentary on this academic year to premiere before Commencement in May.
Fourth-year College student and project coordinator Mostafa Abdelkarim said he conceived of a project documenting the year last January as his final year approached and the idea of graduation crept up on him.
Abdelkarim said he had previous experience with film and wanted to make a project with a wider scope.
"I wanted to do something with a bigger exclamation point," he said.
The project is not just a documentary about the academic year--it is a documentary that will distinguish this year from every other year to come, according to Abdelkarim.
"We wanted to capture the original flavor of the class," Abdelkarim said.
Abdelkarim said he and 12 other students are working to capture all of the special moments of the year by filming several events like the Rotunda Sing and the first day of classes, as well as going out and filming spontaneous events two to three times a week.
The goal is for the project to become a yearly tradition so students years down the road can go to Clemons and view what each year was like, Abdelkarim said.
"If each fourth-year class did this, you'd have a continuing record of life at U.Va.," he said.
Media Studies Prof. Johanna Drucker said the project had an important historical value.
"It's going to give us a legacy," Drucker said.
Currently, the students working on the project are footing the bill for recordable tapes, but they have enjoyed the support of the Digital Media Lab.
The DML has put a camera on reserve exclusively for the film and allowed the students to use all of the editing equipment, Abdelkarim said.
In order for this kind of project to survive here, Drucker said, the University really has to get behind the students.
Drucker said this kind of project should become more prominent because fluency in digital media was becoming a necessary skill.
"Media is a 21st century business skill," she said.
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