Poppy Garofalo
Staff Writer
It was just as Colby Petersen, an Asian studies major and Japanese language student, was planning his trip for Spring Break that he received an e-mail from mtvU. A branch of the MTV networks, mtvU is dedicated to programming that is created by, with and for college students. Putting together a global Spring Break package for their new spring slate, mtvU saw Petersen’s trip to Japan as an ideal addition to their program.
MtvU broadcasts to 725 universities, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The network was launched in January 2004 and now reaches 6.4 million college viewers. The focus at mtvU is on students, so their feedback helped shape the creation of the Global Spring Break package.
Much of MTV programming in the past focused on the typical spring break of college students. However, mtvU decided to take a different approach.
“We heard from our audience that they wanted to see more unique trips,” said Ross Martin VIP of Programming at mtvU. “We know that Panama City Beach is the Spring Break hub, but we were looking for something out of the ordinary.”
MtvU selected Petersen, along with five other students, to participate in the feature.
Their destinations included Kenya, Thailand, Honduras, Paris, London and Japan.
“We gave them a little direction,” Martin said. “Basically we asked them to bring us and the viewers along with them on their trip.”
Students either focused on charity work or immersed themselves in a different culture.
“I’m psyched for this program, because I’ve heard from Colby how it has paid off,” Martin said. “This is a great example of how college students are creating the content for mtvU.”
Never having traveled to Japan, Petersen decided to invite a friend along for the trip. Chris Meyer, another student at Pepperdine, said he jumped at the opportunity.
Meyer had already arranged his own trip when Petersen approached him with the idea of going to Japan together. Meyer decided to drop his plans for a road trip up the coast.
“It was a cool, crazy alternative,” Meyer said. “Road trips. Cancun, Mexico. I’ve done all that before.”
The two stayed in Osaka, Japan. However, they said their most exciting experiences took place in Nara, a village just outside of Osaka.
In celebration of the month of February, the people living in Nara held a fire festival that Petersen and Meyer attended.
“There were monks with 30-foot torches in the temple,” Petersen said. “We were so close that there were ashes falling down on us.”
Meyer said it was a different aspect of the culture in Nara struck him as most memorable. He said he was greatly impressed by the structures present in the Japanese town.
“We saw the second largest stone Buddha statue in the largest wooden building,” Meyer said. “It was amazing to see such old, gigantic architecture.”
Having studied Asian culture and the Japanese language, Peterson was able to speak a little of the language. However, Meyer didn’t speak Japanese at all. The pair experienced life in Japan by hanging out with Japanese kids and finding out what they do for fun.
“They took us along for karaoke, but not in a typical bar,” Meyer said. “We were all sitting in a little room with a TV singing to each other.”
Petersen took his own camera and recorded his trip, creating something of a documentary for mtvU viewers.
“It was reality TV in the sense that it was an experience somewhere that we had never been before,” Petersen said. “We totally immersed ourselves in a different culture.”
Petersen had been in close contact with mtvU the week before he left and sent them all of his digital pictures right after his return. Once the material has been edited, Petersen will have the chance to look over the final product. His program will air starting March 28.
Global Spring Break displays two of mtvU’s unique characteristics. The network combines student-driven programming, dedication to social action and new music. The content of the package was created entirely by students. Some traveled to exotic locations while others volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and the tsunami relief.
Along with providing entertainment, Martin said mtvU focuses on the ambitions and passions of its viewers. MtvU continues to work with the college community toward implementing positive social change. Some of their upcoming initiatives include MtvU Activism: Sudan, Chat the Planet and MtvU Grants.
Reality television doesn’t always have a distinct purpose, but mtvU’s global Spring Break package is not composed of the typically trivial reality-TV content. Students are given the chance to share their interests with hundreds of other campuses and millions of other students through the broadcast.
Petersen said his trip to Japan has already changed his life, but now it has the chance to influence the lives of other students.
03-24-2005
