Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Stephanie Taylor (left) listens to Chris Carter, media studies lab and studio coordinator, as she teaches computerized digital video editing techniques in RU's Madison Hall, the themed residence hall that will feature a future live feed from CNN showing behind-the-scenes activity at the network.

RADFORD -- Before Stephanie Taylor walked into her first Radford University classroom this week, she met nearly 120 new students who shared her major.

Taylor is a resident assistant in Madison Hall, the university's newest themed dorm.

Students taking media studies classes had the option of moving to the first two floors of the non-air-conditioned residence hall this year, and many accepted.

"Knowing that they're media studies, we can plan things that you know they're interested in," Taylor said. "I already know that as an R.A., I have something I can talk to them about."

Madison residents will have a room of editing bays, a consolidated computer lab that combines three rooms once spread out over campus, and soon they'll have a live feed of CNN video piped into their downstairs lounge. It's not just for Madison residents, but they're the ones who can stomp down the stairs in slippers to complete a project, Taylor said.

The CNN feed, "Newsource in the Classroom," sends raw video, similar to what local television stations receive, to participating schools across the country. It's a free program, but schools have to pay for equipment. At Radford, start-up cost about $1,300.

In Virginia, six schools, including Washington and Lee University and Lynchburg College, take part in the program, according to CNN.

The idea is that students will be able to use the raw video to practice writing scripts, editing clips and writing stories. And an online site provided through CNN would allow them to download a group of facts to complete a story, said Joe Staniunas, a former TV assignment editor and Radford professor.

The programs could drive home the importance of combining print and broadcast, which are traditionally seen as separate, media studies faculty said. They're also hoping the novelty might bring people to the department and student publications.

Staniunas broached the idea for the feeds after the media studies theme had been approved, and housing officials already have set aside a downstairs study area to serve as an in-house lab.

"The challenge for us as faculty is to integrate this into the courses," he said.

Balancing rigorous class work against the laid-back atmosphere of residence halls has been an issue at colleges for years.

Combined academic and learning spaces is a way to find the right mix, said Sean Pierce, regional adviser for the National Association of College and University Residence Halls.

In the early '90s, faculty members lived in residence halls. In the formative years of big-name schools, faculty on campus was the norm, Pierce said. But when that national trend waned, dorms tended to focus on students' general interests.

In the past 15 years, more schools are learning about and updating themes, even if they're as simple as "quiet," "freshmen only" or "wellness" spots on campus, said Pierce, who once worked at a New York school that grouped freshmen who enjoyed movies and music.

At Radford, 11 of the 19 dorms have themes, such as performing arts and information technology, and Virginia Tech has added a group of halls focused on diversity of students.

"It's kind of putting them in a cohort," Pierce said. "It gives them that focus and more opportunity to be more ensconced in what they're working on."

Part of the interest stems from the "Harry Potter on campus" model. In that book series, students are divided into four houses with students who share distinct personality traits. Pierce said that model can be found on campuses nationwide, sans the names.

"They know that the students who are coming to us are now being tuned into that. They want something more than, 'This is my room,' " he said.

With the advent of the media studies plan at Radford, students could get more than they asked for.

Faculty member Joe Flickinger said he wants to hold office hours in the dorm, and academic advisers have a room set aside in the dorm's lab to talk students through their course work.

Professors such as Flickinger think the labs are central enough to some classroom buildings, but the switch means professors will be farther from students working in the comfort of their home than they would be if the labs were in the academic buildings.

"It could force each of them [the students] to get it done on their own," Flickinger said.