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/.

In 1870, Kappa Alpha Theta was founded as the first Greek-letter fraternity for women. Today, the organization is known at universities all over the country for their strong traditions and values.

“Our purpose is to support members to learn, grow, and excel, and our core values are personal excellence, friendship/sisterhood, scholarship, service, and leadership,” according to the Kappa Alpha Theta vision statement.

In the spring of 2009, Kappa Alpha Theta will start a new tradition at Auburn by “recolonizing” the Gamma Omega chapter. The new foundation of this chapter will make Gamma Omega the 127th active college chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta and the 17th National Panhellenic sorority on campus at Auburn University.

Like any new organization, public relations efforts are very important in spreading the word about this new sorority chapter.

 “Starting a sorority first requires that Panhellenic invite us on campus. In this case, they have invited us to begin recruitment on Auburn’s campus in the spring semester. Starting on January 14^th, you’ll see us all over campus doing PR for Kappa Alpha Theta, trying to recruit new members for our charter class,” said Jaryn Jech, an Educational Leadership Consultant for Kappa Alpha Theta.

Jech is joined by two other Educational Leadership Consultants, Caroline Redmond and Mallory Lickey. Together, they are already working to promote this exciting new opportunity for Auburn women.

For the chapter’s first semester, the Education Leadership Consultants are focusing on public relations efforts to help increase membership. “We will have different tables set up all around campus, giving out t-shirts, buttons and information about Theta. You will also see posters, banners and billboards around campus,” said Jech.

The three alumnae recently visited Auburn’s campus, where they met with the presidents of the 16 existing sororities, asking for support and advice in founding their new chapter. During their visit, they were able to get additional ideas for public relations opportunities as well as recruitment efforts.  

Redmond explained, “Towards the end of January, following the PR efforts, we will start official recruitment. There will be info-sessions explaining the founding of Theta as well as the dues and time commitment that come with being a member. Following that will be the colonization kick-off event.”

Any women interested in being a charter member of this new organization are encouraged to attend the information sessions in the spring.

Lickey clarified, “Kappa Alpha Theta is looking for women of all ages, from freshmen to seniors. And we are looking for leaders who are excited about starting some new traditions as new members of a new organization.”

For more information, visit the Auburn Panhellenic Website or call the Greek Life Office at (334)-844-4600.

Last week, Auburn University began, yet another, construction project on campus. While many students say that the continuous construction on campus is frustrating, the latest construction project seems to be the worst, by far.

For the next month, the concourse will be completely closed off to students as workers re-brick the high-trafficked walkway. Already, after only a week, many students have found it very difficult to get around on campus and have been forced to find alternative routes to class. This new inconvenience has sparked a great deal of anger and irritation among students.

“It’s really inconvenient for students. It inhibits students from doing things on campus,” said Sarah Stalnaker, a senior in Fashion Design. “It takes so much longer to get to the places you need to go. I’ll be happy when it’s done.”

And talk about bad timing. Homecoming weekend and the Grand Opening Celebration of the Auburn University Student Center are quickly approaching and the concourse construction shows no signs of being completed any time soon.

Many students have raised the question as to why the project was not started over the summer or postponed until Winter Break. “This just seems like the worst time to start this construction,” Stalnaker added.

Auburn’s campus has had one construction project after another. When is it all going to end? Well, probably not any time soon. There has been talk about building a new coliseum and Student Activities Center.

For now, Auburn students are just going to have to get used to the inconvenience of the many construction projects.

Auburn fans claim to be extremely dedicated to their school and football team, but some students displayed very poor sportsmanship by booing as we lost another game to Arkansas this past weekend.

Obviously no fans want to see their beloved tigers lose, but that is when they need the most support from fans.

Despite Dean Green’s request for Auburn students to be respectful of our team at home football games, students showed very little class as they booed their own team. In his email to students a few weeks prior, Green said, “First, please join me by agreeing to demonstrate your support for, and not criticism of, our football team. That means no booing! Remember, the team isn’t trying to lose the game—the players work hard all spring and during fall camp to be ready to compete in the S.E.C. Let’s show our appreciation for their hard work by encouraging them with loads enthusiasm! Secondly, help me show the world what I get to experience everyday: that Auburn men and women are special, dedicated, loyal, fun loving, bleed orange and blue, are compassionate, and demonstrate good will to others, even our competitors.”

As a devoted Auburn fan, I was completely disgusted as the group of guys sitting behind me booed throughout the entire game on Saturday. But they definitely weren’t the only ones doing it. As Wes Byrum missed a field goal, the student section roared with derogatory comments towards the Auburn football player.

I heard comments such as, “Even I could kick better than Byrum” and “He is worse than John Vaughn.”

Not only is this behavior inappropriate, but it also gives Auburn fans a bad image. This past weekend, many possible recruits came to the game to see what Auburn football is all about. I’m sure they heard as students booed at the team’s loss to the razorbacks.

Why would anyone want to come play for a school whose “loyal” fans boo their own team?

Sports commentators have also brought attention to this appalling behavior. With many Auburn football games televised on national TV, everyone watching the game could see the poor sportsmanship displayed by fans.

As soon as you walk into a public relations class at Auburn University, you immediately notice that it is predominantly female.  Many classes will have at least 20 females and only one male, if that. Is the concept of a male public relations practitioner starting to become as ironic as a male nurse?

Well, not exactly. But it sure seems to be heading that way. This lack of diversity is not only evident within the public relations classes at Auburn, but throughout the country as well.

Rochelle Ford, an associate professor of journalism and mass communication and an associate dean for research and academic affairs at Howard University, has also noticed this lack of diversity. Ford conducts research about diversity in advertising and public relations for a column in PRSA’s award winning magazine.

“There is a reality that men are a lot fewer in number than women in the public relations industry. If you look at PRSA’s (Pubic Relations Society of America) membership, about 70% are women and only about 30% are men,” she said.

Over the past few decades, the number of male PR practitioners has significantly declined and it is only projected to get worse.  “If you look at it on the student side, well, its even kind of scary,” Ford said.

Each year, fewer men are choosing to go into the field of public relations. Men are starting to be described as an “endangered species” in public relations. The most recent study of the PRSSA (Public Relations Students Society of America), showed that 90 percent of the members are female and only 10 percent are male.

But why is this happening? There are actually many predictions as to why this is happening.

In general, the field of public relations attracts more women than men. But it is this preconceived notion that a public relations occupation is “women’s job” that turns men away. Many men find it less attractive to enter into the field because it is already viewed as a female profession.

In addition, as men search for a career path, many men strive to obtain a job of power. Unfortunately, public relations practitioners are not seen as the most powerful people in the company, nor is it viewed as the most highly respected position in the company. This has caused the majority of men to completely steer clear of the profession.

While it might not be the most glorious position in the company, the reality is that public relations are a crucial part of any company. Every company must maintain good public and media relations in order to be successful.

This lack of diversity could actually be a bigger problem than it seems. Companies all over the country appeal to a variety of audiences. With a predominantly female view, doing that could be very difficult. Men and women have different views about companies and products and will react differently to communication and public relations efforts. Both views need to be taken into account in order for companies to be able to address the male and female populations.

For that reason, the PRSA is taking measures to recruit more men into the profession.