Saturday, February 18, 2017

The Power of Social Media

On Feb. 16, immigrant workers stayed home from work as a part of the "Day Without Immigrants" protest. Businesses around the country were closed for the day because not enough employees showed up to work. Many businesses closed in support of the event as well. Even a school in Grand Rapids had to take a snow day from students taking part in the protest. This protest was in response to Trump's actions and words about immigration.

Many signs were made to help relay the message to President Trump
I love that we live in a country where we can express our ideas and thoughts through peaceful protests. It's how things change and how we make history. Our country was founded on a protest against the King in England. We live in a time where people are willing to stand up for what they believe in and to stand up for the unheard voices.

What amazes me is how this protest and other recent protests have grown into national events. And it's all because of the power of social media.

Social media is used, for many, as a way to express thoughts to friends. However, people have been taking advantage of easy connections to the world to spread their ideas in hopes to inspire others. The "Day Without Immigrants" was started on social media, which grew into a nationwide protest.

The Women's March logo
Another recent example is the Women's March which took place the day after the inauguration. The organization used Facebook and Twitter to spread information, have participants collaborate before the event, and inspire other cities to hold their own march.

Social media is a smart tool to spread the word. On a smaller scale, I see many friends use social media to help fundraise for events like Relay for Life. Social media allows us connect and inspire others we may have not been able to reach otherwise.

If you have an idea or event, use social media. There are people out there who may have the same feelings as you about an issue. You never know who may reach on social media. You never know who you will inspire.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

To the College Republicans at Central Michigan University (and any other organization in a crisis situation),

As a public relations major at Central Michigan University and having studied crisis communication, I was excited to see a real life example so close to home. Unfortunately I was disappointed in how your PR was handled and think it ultimately lead to your downfall.

Statement made by the group. Picture provided by Fox17

I am not here to yell at you for the act done this past week. Instead, I am here to talk about how I perceived how your organization handled the crisis.

Since the person in charge of social media of the College Republicans at Central Michigan University is not a public relations major, I thought I would it could be useful to have some help in the event of future crises.

Below are three tips that any organization should use when in a crisis situation:

1. Public Relations is Not to Spin or Cover Up 
One of the first things any PR major learns in class is the definition of public relation. Simply put, it means relations with the public. Our job is to have the honest relationship with the public, to create and keep the trust of those we interact with. No matter how much it may hurt, people would rather organizations be honest, own up to their mistakes, and do something to fix it. 

This brings me to my second piece of advice,

2. Don't Delete Public Information
A mistake the organization made was deleting the information of the eboard members from their Facebook page. While trying to protect your eboard members from hate messages, it made it look like you were trying to hide something (or a someone). Those on Facebook did not appreciate this. Some users even got screenshots before they took the information down.

Once someone has evidence that proves you did or did not do something, it is hard to comeback and defend yourself. 

While it is impossible to prevent people from sending hateful words, it is possible to reduce it. Instead of taking down information, do the third piece of advice.

3. Talk About Actions, Not Excuses 
A statement was released saying you do not approve of this act. This was a good move by the group. Not only did you finally respond to the many angry Facebook comments, but you also stated you did not approve of the action. Where the mess up happened was not saying what actions were going to be taken. Instead you tried to clear your name. 

What needed to be done was provide the answer of what you were going to do the member who performed the act. 

Examples which could have used include:
  • Removing the member from the group
  • Taking away her eboard position (if she is on eboard) 
  • Having her apologize to the receiving student and Hillel (the Jewish organization on campus) 
  • Participating and speaking at the march against hate speech
  • Anything you see fit for punishment
A great example for taking action, even when it would cost them, (talked about in almost every one of my classes) is the Tylenol crisis case. 

If you said and performed your planned actions, I believe not only would people be happier with the organization but in world news, it would have shown everyone your organization really did not support the act.

Please feel free to follow these steps in future crisis situation.

Sincererly,

A public relations student 




Friday, February 3, 2017

Eleven Girls, Three Teachers, and One Mini Horse...

.8:30 am, December 17, 2016, 11 girls piled into two minivans and traveled to Grantville, PA. Instead of going home to start our winter break, we volunteered through CMU's Alternative Breaks for a week. Our break issue was Children's with Disabilities.

In the mornings, we observed classrooms at various schools in the area. At night, we worked at a horse therapy farm called Captial Area Therapeutic Riding Area. (CATRA) This farm is one of the most incredible places I've ever been to.  The farm was started 30 years ago by a Ben and Shirley Nolt. They started by having one rider, now they have around 110 riders a week. CATRA is completely volunteer based; even the owners don't get paid.

Everyone we worked with for the week

Me and Glinda...finally getting along
Since we went in December, there were no riders. Instead, we got to do farm work. Every day we fed the animals, brushed our assigned horse, played with the dogs, cleaned stalls, and brought miniature horses down the hill. Our first day did not go as planned for me. Little did I know it was mating season, and my mini, Glinda, was not having any of the stallion. She took off running...with me still holding on. I was afraid of losing her so I didn't want to let go.  I was pulled along for a ride. For the rest of my week, Ben called me slider.

Besides us volunteering, CATRA had at least 10 volunteers come in every day. Some of these volunteers were persons with disabilities. Some of these people had full-time jobs. Some people were children. All people volunteered for the love of the program. One volunteer, Shakira, worked with us the whole week, Without her, Ben, and Shirley, we would have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off. They taught us not only how to work on a farm, but also how to be patient with others.

The week was very eye opening. I knew very little about children's with disabilities but luckily I was exposed to some of the best programs in the state. As cheesy as it sounds, I could not have asked for a better way to start my break. I would recommend 1. any CMU student to go on an Alternative Break and 2. look into volunteering at horse therapy farms like CATRA because they are doing amazing things.

(Also 3. Go to Hershey Chocolate World. They have a ride where you get free chocolate and really good milkshakes.)

Friday, January 27, 2017

My Unexpected Family

March 2016, I was selected to be on a staff. Little did I know that email was my key to meeting some of the best people I know. When we first met, the new hires were silent, trying to find our place in the group. Now you can't get us quiet when we're all together

Our first family picture

I am fortunate to be a part of a staff that is not just coworkers but a family now. We are one of the largest staffs with 14 Resident Assistants, Multicultural Assistants, and a Hall Council Advisor. (There's 15 in the picture because our MA graduated in December. Miss you Cody!) Other RAs on campus ask how it is to work with so many people and my response is it's the easiest thing I've done. It means more hugs, more people to cheer you on, more people to catch you when you fall, more people to love, more laughs, and more people to learn more.

While we're split between two buildings across the street from each other, it doesn't stop us from always being with each other. (Seriously, we joke saying we don't have any other friends) I don't think my RA experience would have been as great if it wasn't for these people. Thank you guys for being the best staff and being the best family I've been hired into.


Halloween Hall Council

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Life as a Resident Assistant

My goal for my blog is to be about my time as a Resident Assistant. (RA) When I got hired, I looked around and did not find many blogs talking about their experience. My goal would be to upload my bulletin boards, door decs, posters, etc. for people to see and potentially use. Another area I would talk about would be about balancing my work life, social life,  school load and sleep schedule with being a RA. Finally, I will probably give tips to help those who are just starting out as a RA. I want to be the relatable guide for someone that I did not necessarily have during my first year.