THUMBS DOWN to the University of Nevada, Reno for its publicity gimmick to attract a student from Vermont. Other media outlets jumped on this cute little feature story about the university’s advertising campaign in Vermont.
UNR, which has students from the District of Columbia and all the states except Vermont, apparently is desperate to complete the list by getting that Vermont student.
So desperate, in fact, that it placed a full-page ad in Vermont’s largest newspaper, offered free round-trip flights to five students from Vermont to visit Reno, created a social media campaign and said it was contacting university friends and alumni to aid in the effort. All for a gimmick.
Look, we aren’t opposed to a little creativity in UNR’s marketing department. But we fail to see the value of this campaign when you consider the cost and time devoted to this get-a-student-from-Vermont investment. Certainly UNR officials and supporters could spend their time on endeavors that actually improve the university and benefit the student body.
THUMBS DOWN to the city of Sparks for spending $100,000 to hire a company to engage residents.
The city is allocating funds to persuade folks to give input on updating the city’s master or comprehensive plan.
A big component of this so-called outreach effort is social media, and we’re not sure how many older residents will be checking Twitter to get city messages. One of the company’s ideas is encouraging residents to submit photos of the places in Sparks that they love, that need love and those they want to see grow.
Taxpayers’ involvement in city affairs is undoubtedly important, but at what cost? Does the city really need to hire a fancy firm with fancy-sounding public-relations proposals to get comments and suggestions from residents? Did we fail to mention that the city already pays for a full-time employee to handle public relations at a yearly salary of about $100,000?
THUMBS UP to the UNLV football team for snatching the Fremont Cannon by defeating the Wolf Pack on the Pack’s home field. While we hate to give space in this column to the Rebels from that little university on Maryland Parkway, we also give credit where credit is due. We can’t imagine what Chris Ault is thinking about the cannon turning red again.
THUMBS UP to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for recognizing the bravery of Michael Landsberry, the Sparks Middle School teacher who was killed when he intervened in the 2013 shooting at the school.
Sadly, the Carnegie commission’s announcement wasn’t the only painful reminder of a senseless school shooting. The innocent victims of the inexplicable carnage last week at the community college in Roseburg, Ore., are in our minds and hearts.
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