When it comes to homecoming, Virginia Tech knows how to deliver. From spirit rallies hosted by the Student Alumni Association to the election of homecoming king and queen, the whole student body comes together to participate in one of Tech’s proudest traditions. But, how does the university go about bringing together all of Hokie Nation? Public Relations. The website made specifically for homecoming, www.vthomecoming.org.vt.edu, is the central hub for all things homecoming happening on our campus. On the website, you can find schedules, updates, tailgating information, and even information about the homecoming board itself. At a university defined by an overwhelming amount of school spirit, it’s only right that we have a homecoming that lives up to that standard. The challenge presented to the homecoming board is to generate interest and excitement within the student body, essentially getting all 36,000 hokies amped up for the big homecoming game. They did just that through the use of social media outlets, email blasts, marketing throughout campus, and of course, the spirit rally. These tactics are all forms of Public Relations, maintaining a two-way communication between the university and the student body in regards to homecoming festivities. Virginia Tech wants to create engagement between the students and the university, generating attendance at their planned homecoming events. For example, the Juicy J concert hosted by the Virginia Tech Union and the Black Student Alliance used Public Relations to get the word out about the concert. Facebook and Twitter were blowing up with excitement over the concert, creating buzz in the social media realm surrounding Virginia Tech. This was a great example of how the university created and maintained a two-way communication between the student body and themselves. The outcome of course, being students had a blast at the concert and were excited for the remainder of the week’s homecoming activities. Overall, homecoming was deemed a success. From all levels whether administration or students, the university was united by our overwhelming amount of school pride and Hokie spirit. Not to mention, we won our homecoming game! Whether people realized it or not, Public Relations facilitated the week’s events, uniting us hokies through a common theme: our love of Virginia Tech. Until next year’s homecoming! Edited by Katharina Elberti, Webmaster and Editor-in-Chief 2014-2015
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The National Football League and its players have been in the headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. As a result of what many experts are calling the “worst week in NFL history,” a number of NFL teams and league executives have to deal with the consequences of the actions of some of their most prominent players. The big issue in the NFL right now is domestic abuse. The issue was first brought to the forefront after TMZ posted a video of a physical altercation at a hotel between Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his then-fiancée. Rice was originally suspended for just the first two games of the season after the NFL reviewed the incident. Many fans and experts alike spoke out against the suspension, due to the fact that they thought it was too lenient on Rice. After an extended video of the incident showed the full extent to which Rice assaulted his fiancée, Rice was handed an indefinite suspension by the NFL and released by the Baltimore Ravens on September 8. It only got worse for the NFL from that point on. On September 12, the league’s star running back, Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, was indicted on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child, and has since been suspended by the Vikings. And if you thought things couldn’t get worse for the NFL, on September 17, Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested on charges of domestic assault against a 27-year-old female and an 18-month-old child. Needless to say, it is not a good time to be a running back in the NFL. These suspensions, especially in such quick succession, reflect extremely poorly on the league, and force multiple parties to have to make crucial decisions in order to maintain a positive public image. For example, the Ravens were forced to terminate the contract of their star running back due to the backlash that was felt after the video of Rice punching his fiancée twice in an elevator emerged. The Vikings will probably do anything to avoid further discipline against Peterson. Peterson, who finished just nine yards shy of the record for most rushing yards in a season in 2012, is synonymous with the Vikings brand, and because of that, the organization will most likely wait until the end of the trial process before making a final decision on Adrian Peterson. The Vikings had originally announced their support of Peterson, and he was even scheduled to play this coming weekend. It wasn’t until the team and the league began to lose sponsors that the decision was made to suspend Peterson. These incidents have also had an effect on athletes and celebrities who are not directly affiliated with the NFL. For example, athletes such as Paul George, a basketball player for the National Basketball Association’s Indiana Pacers, have been reprimanded for showing support for Rice and Peterson over social media. Even Rihanna wasn’t safe from the backlash of the Ray Rice domestic abuse case. Jay-Z’s song “Run this Town,” which features Rihanna, was supposed to be played at the beginning of Thursday Night Football broadcasts this season, with the first broadcast being the Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game. Because of Rihanna’s past history with domestic abuse, CBS pulled the song from the September 11 broadcast due to Ray Rice’s affiliation with the Baltimore Ravens. Rihanna voiced her displeasure at the decision on her Twitter account, and as a result, CBS decided to sever ties with her, and will be eliminating the song from their broadcast completely. These past few weeks have not been easy for the NFL. Due to the poor judgment of a handful of individuals, teams are having to choose between disciplining some of their best players, or facing the backlash of the public. The Ravens are being criticized for supporting one of their best players until the evidence was completely stacked against him, while the Vikings are being accused of suspending Peterson only after Radisson Hotels decided to suspend its sponsorship of the team. When one player makes a poor decision, the league, their team, their sponsors, and even a celebrity such as Rihanna, has to pay the consequences for the player’s behavior. No organization wants to have their brand tarnished, especially by something as serious as domestic abuse. Decisions have to be made in order to rehabilitate the organization’s reputation – even if it means releasing their star running back. Edited by Katharina Elberti, Webmaster and Editor-in-Chief 2014-2015 |
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