U.VA. STUDENT PRODUCES NEW LOCAL TV SHOW

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 2-- A television show that will
debut on Tuesday, Dec. 9, will address a common phrase in the
Charlottesville area: "town-gown" relations.
	University of Virginia student Thomas ("Tom") S. Gurganous Jr.
has created a news show that will debut at 8 p.m. on local
public-access television (channel 13 on Adelphia Cable).  A third year
government major from Midlothian, Va., Gurganous wants the program to
"strengthen the bond between U.Va. students and Charlottesville
residents." 
	Styled after Sunday morning news shows, the program will
address issues affecting students on the local, state and national
levels, Gurganous said.  Shows after the premiere will include an
"about-town" section during which students and area residents will air
their views on selected topics. 
	"The show will serve as a means to attack political apathy,"
said Gurganous, who is producing it without outside funding.  
	The first show will focus on U.Va.'s Student Council and will
include an interview with Dan Soschin, the Council's vice president
for administration.
	Gurganous is creating the show with the assistance of U.Va.
graduate student Brian Menard and Bruce Johnson, a visual
communications staff member at the Darden Graduate School of Business
Administration.  A former teaching assistant and instructor in
government and foreign affairs classes, where he met Gurganous, Menard
is now executive director of the Citizenship Project, a
Charlottesville-based organization that supports community
involvement.  Because the television show has the potential for
promoting civic understanding, Menard has been helping Gurganous with
the program.
	Johnson, a U.Va. graduate, volunteers at the Adelphia cable
studio.  He views the budding program as "a unique show for the
community.  Tom is doing a great job in bringing together a show like
this."
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                                                          Dec.1, 1997

	For more information, contact Tom Gurganous at (804) 971-9102
or via tsg7h@virginia.edu.  Brian Menard can be reached at the
Citizenship Project at (804) 984-2823 or via brm2d@virginia.edu, and
Bruce Johnson is at (804) 924 4790 or via bej5a@virginia.edu.
Information about what's happening at the University of Virginia is
available at U.Va.'s Top News site, updated daily:
http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/.