reflections on nca

Music: Engineers: self-titled (2005)

I returned from the National Communication Association conference last Thursday morning with red eyes and bronchitis. Obligations kept me busy through the weekend (including the therapy of playing DJ), and only now have I had a chance to sit down and reflect on the conference. My thinking, in retrospect, is that I wish I wasn't sick. If I wasn't feeling under the weather, I would have been more conscientious about seeing people---but I usually felt so lousy I didn't want to leave my hotel (Parc 55).

My visit was much too brief, and I missed out on seeing my far-flung loved ones.

The conference itself seemed to run smoothly, even though I did not enter the Hilton. It was easy to fulfill my professional obligations without a program or name tag.

I have never met panhandlers more aggressive than those in San Francisco. If one went outside to wait for a shuttle, smoke, or just chat, it would be mere minutes before someone asked you for money. A politice "no" would not, however, dissuade them---they would keep on asking, or curse you out. Toward the end of my stay, when I spied a sauntering panhandler edging close, I would turn, look him or her in the eye, and say "NO!" in an aggressive manner. This seemed to work, but inside I felt guilty.

As for the conference itself, I would say it went off successfully despite the boycott. My department's party was, apparently, a real smash---as we were the only school with free booze (courtesy of a number of our full professors who paid for it out of their pockets!). My panel seemed to go well, and from what I gather, our students had a number of successful meetings and interviews with possible employers.

While not satisfied, I was very glad that NCA allowed any panel to move to an alternative location to avoid the boycotted Hilton. Folks whom I spoke with that had their panels moved said that it went "fine."

I have not heard as of yet about Legislative Assembly outcomes. I hope someone can fill us in, here.

My only complaint has to do with professional indulgence, which I suppose we could term responsibility. Let me detail them in order of disturbance:

First, if you are a leader in your department, do not appear to be drunk at professional events in which your job is to recruit people. If you want to get sloppy at the hotel bar late at night, or on the town, there's no problem with that. Just note that I heard from many people on the job that they were turned off by having to talk to drunk department representatives. I suspect this is the same for graduate students checking out programs. One would think this is common sense; I had a drink in my hand the whole evening at my department party. It was, effectively, a prop until I left the hotel with friends for a night on the town.

Did I get sloppy at NCA? Yes, yes I did. But it was with my roommate in our hotel room where we laughed and laughed until 4:00 a.m. Not a prospective job candidate or grad student within earshot.

Second, if you commit to be on a panel, it is not cool to bail out at the last minute. It is ok to bail out during the preliminary programming, I think. Many of us did not know, at the time we submitted our panels and papers, that the Hilton would be boycotted. It seems reasonable to me to pull out months before the conference. But, just not showing up at a panel when an audience is there expecting to see you is just plain tacky.

Third, if you are a "big name" scholar, that does not mean you get to speak for however long as you wish to. Ten to fifteen minutes is the average speaking time and everyone knows this. Before you go to the conference, you should read your paper aloud and time yourself. I did. I discovered my paper was two minutes too long. Guess what I did? I cut two paragraphs and read my paper again. Still too long. I made some smaller edits and tried again until I got my paper to ten minutes. Sure, it took three hours to cut and prune and practice, but when it was my turn to speak on my panel, I took my allotted time an no more. It seems to me very professional rude to speak for double your allotted time, or triple (as one of my panelists did).

These issues aside, though, and even with a cold, I did have a lovely time. My most favorite moments are those when I meet someone new who captivates me, or when I have an opportunity to finally sit down and visit with someone after months of being apart. I had meals with best friends; I got to see lots of friendly faces at the hotel bar milling about. And more than anything, I am reminded of a feeling of belonging, that I like my field and (most of) the people in it, and that we are taking care of each other.

Going to NCA reminds me of why I like being a communication studies person, and not, say, English literature scholar. A brief gallery of my NCA experience is here.

Next up: Western States. Who's goin'? Looks like I will be.