Catherine Hamilton

Last week, Paula Goodspeed, a former American Idol contestant, committed suicide in her car parked down the street from Paula Abdul’s Los Angeles home. The mentally unstable 30-year-old, who was reported missing and suicidal, was found dead on Tuesday, holding Abdul‘s CDs and pictures.

Goodspeed, an obsessed Abdul fan, was mocked and rejected in her 2005 American Idol audition. After her performance, the judges ridiculed her singing and teased her for having braces.

Since this tragedy, the show has received a great deal of unwanted attention, as people blame the judges for Goodspeed’s suicide. Many argue that the judges, especially Simon Cowell, are too harsh when criticizing the contestants.

Bloggers and social media users all over the country have been speaking out about their thoughts on the situation. American Idol fan or not, many want to know what precautions are being taken to prevent this in the future.

As producers of the reality show have declined to comment on the death, Americans have become even more angered. What will happen to television’s No. 1 show? How are the judges going to handle people like Goodspeed in the future? Are the AI judges going to have to be NICE?

On Saturday, Meredith Gaston, the Auburn University Panhellenic President, was crowned Miss Homecoming 2008. For the week of November 3-7, the top 5 Miss Homecoming candidates campaigned around Auburn, promoting the importance of various issues on Auburn’s campus.

Gaston’s campaign, “eMEREgency”, highlighted the importance of safety on campus as well as the effectiveness of the AU Alert System.

“As a Miss Homecoming candidate, I am promoting the AU Alert System. This system was put in place last year by the University to inform the Auburn family of emergency situations and to enhance the feeling of safety on campus,” said Gaston in her platform.

After past events on Auburn’s campus, the AU Alert System has received a lot of attention, but Gaston feels that better participation could make the system even more effective.

“The AU Alert system has the potential to save lives but it is constantly in need of improvement. If a disaster ever strikes Auburn’s campus, AU Alert could make all the difference in saving lives, but without student use, it is not effective. I am encouraging students to sign up for AU Alert, but most importantly, I am asking them to voice their opinions about its use and effectiveness,” she continues.

After her victory, Gaston plans to encourage awareness of safety issues on campus and hopes to get every Auburn University students signed up for AU Alert.

With a struggling economy, now is a difficult time to be looking for jobs and internships. That’s why students and faculty in the Department of Communication and Journalism have created a new networking tool for Auburn PR students and alumni.

On Wednesday, November 5, 2008, the Auburn University PR program will officially launch this new social networking site, Auburn PR :: War Eagle!

The site, or WarEage.me, was created in the summer of 2008 by Alana Wells, Sherry Namburi, Miles Duncan, Brett Pohlman, Lindsay McCormick and Whitney West as part of a class project in their Auburn University PR Campaigns class.

This new opportunity allows Auburn PR students and alumni from the Department of Communication and Journalism to network, list job and internship opportunities, provide insight to help others in the Auburn PR community and build strong relationships with peers, teachers and alumni.

This private website requires members sign up and create a personal profile page. After creating a profile, members can add photos, videos, events, groups, blogs and notes about themselves.

Members may also invite other PR students, alumni and faculty to join this site. The goal for the site is to get as many as 800 past and present PR students involved, in the hopes of creating a large community for Auburn PR students to share ideas and advice.

While the site is still brand new, members are encouraged to offer feedback and suggestions to the creators of the site.

To become a member, or for more information about this new tool, please visit http://aucmjn.ning.com/.