SGU on TV

So I could have been on TV...

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(Credit for the majority of this goes to Yon.. )


"GoGo Lucky Productions has approached SGU to use the school as a backdrop to film a docudrama about the struggle and challenges of life as a medical student in the Caribbean [think med school Grey's Anatomy reality TV]. The series will run on the Oxygen network [Oprah's network]. We would like to hear your feedback on the idea since obviously there are many pros and cons to go with it.

A little bit about GoGo Lucky productions is that it was responsible for the series "Laguna Beach" however, this docudrama has been said to be a "success show" and not Luguna Beach-esque. They recently have started a show called "Esquire" which is along the same lines as the idea proposed to SGU, except that it was done following a law student at Vanderbilt University. This show is yet to air on television so we do not know of its success or the impact it has had on the school. [also I heard they tried this idea at a US med school in CA, but it was really boring with little drama so the idea of med school in the Caribbean was broached and apparently seemed much more appealing...]

Here is a little information about how this docudrama will work....

The production company plans to select about 10 students to film and follow, starring as the "main characters" [and potentially up to 30 secondary supporting characters]. The creative ideas have been evolving since the inception of the idea, but the aim is to have about two incoming first term students that can be followed from the States to Grenada as well as students from other terms. About six of the main characters will be American students and the others may be international students, and the idea is to choose a diverse group to portray the cosmopolitan student body here at SGU.

Filming of these students will be 3-4 days a week, shot in scenes, not 24/hours a day like MTV's TheRealWorld. The camera crew will consist of about 5 people who may in some cases set up the shot and leave the camera rolling. They plan to film many moments in the students lives including preparing to leave for the island, arrival in Grenada, orientation, white coat ceremony, first day of classes, first day of labs, study groups with friends, DES sessions, entering and leaving exam halls, phone calls to home when homesick, nights out at bananas, sandblast.... you name it. They plan to film in lecture halls, libraries and study spaces to get the shots they need to portray the story.

Some things to note.... anyone caught on camera while filming the scene will have to sign a release form if the shot is to be aired on television. Thus people who do not want to be on TV can actively refuse to sign the form and the shot cannot be used.

Students selected to be on the show will be paid though we were advised that the sum is not very much. [I was told it would be about enough to cover our textbooks for a term...]

Now for the pros and cons.... this show, if successful, can portray SGU in a great light to the American public. It can be a medium for advertising the school and may even help abolish the stigma that Caribbean med schools are inferior to American schools by showing the dedication and drive of the students in addition to the facilities we have available here in Grenada.
However, should the show end up portraying the school or the students in a negative light, we would not want to jeopardize the credibility of SGU. [not to mention, that many students tend to celebrate the end of any major exam by getting plastered the evening after... not exactly something you want the admin looking at your application for residency seeing.. not to mention your future patients should they Google you... and let's not even mention Sandbast...]

With that said, the network has informed us that if SGU chooses not to participate, they will run the show at either American University of the Caribbean in St. Maarten or Saba University School of Medicine in the island of Saba. Now this has implifications for us, in that if the show is successful, America may think that all medical schools in the Caribbean are like these smaller schools, including SGU. This may in fact hurt our reputation.

Chancellor Modica has assured the SGA that he will not proceed with this idea unless the student body wants it, so please use this wall to voice your concerns, opinions on the idea so that the SGA can truly represent you on this matter. Please also feel free to talk to your SGA reps or email SGArep2010@gmail.com."

If decided on, casting call would have begun next term with filming commencing in January of 2008.

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Okay, so since all this buzz, the SGA met and voted AGAINST "SGU TV"

Email to the chancellor stated the following:

After a long discussion this evening, the Student Government Association voted overwhelmingly against the motion to have GO GO LUCKEY Productions film the "docu-drama" at St. George's University. Many students discussed the potential for the program to reflect badly on the university as well as the students. Additionally, the issue of privacy as well as distractions inside and outside the classroom were discussed. After considering the past projects the producer, Austyn Biggers, has been involved with, including "Hottest Mom in America", some students believed that the intentions of the network and/or producer may not have been presented completely. Although there were individuals who believed that there was some potential for the university to gain good exposure and publicity, the students believe the negative aspects could potentially be more damaging. They were concerned that they would be identified during residency interviews and elsewhere as "attending the school on that television show". Finally, the students were uncomfortable with the fact that the final decision of what was to be aired by the network was not clear, and that this could potentially be problematic for the university and those students involved and not involved in the filming."



The chancellor basically replied and said that he would inform the producers of the school's decision to NOT go through with it. Kind of cool that the "student" vote was the deciding factor.

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So I guess all you peeps back home will just have to satisfy yourselves with the occasional pic and even rarer blog to keep you up to date on the goings on here in the Caribbean... all I can say is that I'm lovin' it... most of the time anyway :P

MTV actually did a video of the school a while back.. you can find it here. Video options are at the bottom of the page.