The Media Arts Boosters held a MAC Open House on Jan. 23 to educate the community about the variety of classes offered in the Media Arts Center.

The open house, organized with the help of the journalism teachers and publication students, offered community members information about media arts courses and tours of the Media Arts Center.

Junior and Incubator staff writer Marcus Ling said he volunteered as a tour guide because he wanted to give back to the journalism community and let prospective students know about the variety of choices they have when it comes to courses in the media arts center.

“I thought it would be a great opportunity to contribute to my community because ultimately, our program depends on the students,” Ling said. “The more students we can get, the longer (the program) is going to thrive, the longer it’s going to run.”

Ling, as a representative of one of the publications, said of all the reasons students join publications, his favorite part is the independence and flexibility.

“It’s about all the different stories, all the different perspectives and all the different cultures I can learn about,” Ling said. “You aren’t confined to one type of journalism. You can pursue what you think is important in the world.”

Jackie Wong, a parent of an eighth-grader, said the event opened her eyes to the numerous opportunities at Paly and made her consider encouraging her son to join one of the media arts programs.

“My son is a STEM kid, but it is a good way for him to get out of his comfort zone, to be able to present and (improve his) public speaking,” Wong said.

Eighth-grader Mateo Rosas said he enjoyed seeing the InFocus studio during a tour of the MAC.

“I really liked going up and seeing the recording room of InFocus,” Rosas said. “They have a lot of cool equipment. I’m going to take one of the journalism classes, so I can join one of (the publications).”

Eighth-grader Ian Harvie said he was drawn to the opportunities he hears about in photojournalism.

“My favorite (publications) so far are probably Proof and Via Verde,” Harvie said. “You take nice photos and you put them in the paper.”

Harvie said the open house was a success, and that he left the event excited about potentially joining a media arts class.

Harvie said, “It just seems like one of the most fun electives (high schools) can offer.”