[twobjshelbys]

First, any major camera store should be able to send any camera for repairs or point you to someone who will do it. The description is vague and if it starts with M but isn't Minolta maybe it's Mamiya? I had a Minolta before I concluded their lens offerings weren't very comprehensive and switched to a Nikon F2 in about 1972 and have stayed every since. I added a 8008 for motor drive capability and used it on 3 Grand Canyon river trips.

If you can't find a repair place try the Nikon USA site. In their repair section they have a comprehensive list of third party repair facilities. Most of them that can handle an old mechanical Nikon can work on almost any brand of older 35mm cameras.

One thing you will run into in B&W film developing is that most stores won't do it unless you use the film that is compatible with the color film processes. [I never used such a beast - it's sacreligous]. Classic B&W film like Plus-X or Tri-X can be developed fairly easily at home with some fairly inexpensive developing tanks. Chances are the college will have darkroom facilities for this. The purpose of a B&W class is to teach exposure and contrast control.

Hasselblad makes a wonderful camera but it is a 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 (6cm x 6cm) format film. The enlargements from this size negative are truly awe inspiring. I had a Mamiya 6x7 SLR. The difference is that Hasselblads use a leaf shutter in the lens and the Mamiyas have a SLR-like shutter in the body. The medium format SLRs are noisy though and not good for weddings. I also had a Yaschica TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) which I thought was the best but had limited lenses but did a really good job on scenics. Mamiya also made a TLR that had some add on lenses. Some of the older Hasselblads and Mamiya SLRs can take digital backs but wow they are pricey ($10K+).

The up side of medium format is image quality. The down side is that the remaining 120 format film is "pro" and hard to get except at major camera stores [and usually stored in the refrigerator).

For your exercise I'd stay with 35mm...

Good Luck!