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As part of a political communication studies program in SMU's Meadows School of the Arts, students are blogging from the Republican and Democratic national political conventions.

They covered the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, August 28-30 and are covering the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 4-6.

"As of right now, the biggest show in politics has come upon us," wrote Savannah from the Republican National Convention. "Like the Olympics, this quadrennial event is a logistical behemoth; although, unlike with the Olympics, we largely discredit the work that goes into them. Since getting here, I have realized that this isn’t something that just materializes on the nightly news to fill the news hole. Instead, the people here are just as dedicated to politics as Usain Bolt is to being the fastest man on earth."

The students are attending with Professor Rita Kirk, director of the Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and Dan Schill, assistant professor of communication studies, who are conducting “Dial Test” research for CNN.

 from the Republican convention and return often see their updates from the Democratic convention.