Catherine Hamilton

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/.

Thousands of Auburn students pile into Tiger Transit busses to catch a ride to and from class each day. Without doubt or hesitation, most students probably assume that the university has provided them with a continuously safe ride around campus. Think again.

Last Wednesday, 71-year-old John Batchelor of Loachapoka crashed his East Campus route bus while trying to avoid a cyclist. Batchelor, who was riding by himself, knocked over an aluminum fence and ran head-on into a tree on campus.

Many onlookers stared in disbelief as the driver was then taken to East Alabama Medical Center. He was released later that day, after being treated for minor injuries. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, however, this is not the first Tiger Transit accident of its kind.

The university claims to enforce strict policies for drivers to ensure student safety, but I disagree.

In the police report, Batchelor admits that he “attempted to press the brakes but may have pushed the accelerator.”

May have pushed the accelerator? Are you kidding me? This guy should not be allowed to drive at all, let alone, be a Tiger Transit driver responsible for the safety of thousand of students. Nevertheless, Batchelor has already returned to work.

Besides my disappointment in Auburn’s judgment to allow his return, I am particularly frustrated in the university’s lack of communication with students regarding the situation.

I heard about the accident from a fellow student. I got the quick, gossipy version of the story and I wanted to learn more about it to figure out exactly what had happened.

I first went to the Auburn website, where I found nothing. I then decided to check out the official Tiger Transit website, thinking that they would provide the information I was looking for. Nothing. I even “Googled” it. Again, nothing.

I began to think that this whole thing was just a fabricated rumor. In my last attempt to figure out what had actually happened, I went to The Plainsman website. I became infuriated when found an article and pictures from the wreck on the home page.

When a story is placed on the home page of The Plainsman website, it is obviously an issue that Auburn students feel strongly about. Why didn’t the university communicate this issue to the students?

I am very disappointed that Auburn didn’t make a better effort to tell its students about issues that we care about. Instead, we have to rely on the students writing for the student newspaper to provide us with important information.