Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2005

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

(HOUSTON, March 18, 2005)—The cameras will be rolling when five students from London trade their lives across the pond for eight weeks of college life at the University of Houston. The five are participating in a British documentary chronicling their academic and social experiences at an American institution of higher learning.

“This documentary is meant to show what American university life is like for these transplanted Londoners,” said Sebastian Grant, series producer. “Our cameras will be with them as they go to class, attend fraternity parties and enjoy UH and Houston life.” The result will be a 15-part television series to be aired exclusively for
Trouble TV in the United Kingdom in the fall. Grant, from Princess Productions, created a similar documentary on British high schoolers as they experienced American high school life last year.

The British students will be at UH through the week of May 9.

Students and faculty from the UH Honors College will mentor the group throughout their stay, providing guidance on classes and social activities. The British students will participate in group discussions and tests, but will not receive official grades.

“We didn’t want their classes to get in the way of the fun,” Bill Monroe, executive associate dean of the Honors College, said. “They’ll take a couple of classes, but the majority of their time will be spent with the other students at UH.”

The five students represent a cross-section of London life: Luke Oakeshott is a 19-year-old Londoner whose father is a lord; Twenty-year-old Debbie Otubambo is a criminology student who is a devout Christian; Tara
Al-Wali is a dancer and a fashion design student who is a non-practicing Muslim; Mitesh Patel is 23-years-old and hopes to learn more about designing websites; and 19-year-old Claudia Grant is a world traveler who would like to study anthropology. Three of the students will be housed with fraternities or sororities. One will live in the campus dormitories. The other will live off campus.

“They’ll take part in the upcoming Frontier Fiesta at UH; they’ll visit the Galleria and maybe take in a baseball game,” Grant said. “One student would like to try out for cheerleader. Another would like to write for the university newspaper.”

The University of Houston was chosen because of its diverse student population and because of the unique campus life, Grant said.

For more information about the UH Honors College, please visit http://www.uh.edu/academics/hon/

About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.