COME SEE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL! (This is my article that was published in the Statesman on it)
On September 29, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff came to Utah State University to present his campaign on Identity Theft and even brought along a shredder for a demonstration. Much to his dismay, his appearance was a letdown. Nobody knew he was coming. Based on information from Shurtleff’s Director of Communications, press releases were sent, but responses were few. Whether from a lack of communication or not enough publicity, the Attorney General came to Utah State and left without announcing his campaign.
Preston Parker, public relations professor, was surprised at the lack of communication and publicity for such an event.
“I was surprised that someone as prominent as the attorney general, someone who is running currently for the U.S. Senate could come to a venue like Utah State University and have so few people know about it,” Parker said.
Preston Parker, public relations professor, was surprised at the lack of communication and publicity for such an event.
“I was surprised that someone as prominent as the attorney general, someone who is running currently for the U.S. Senate could come to a venue like Utah State University and have so few people know about it,” Parker said.
When any other school might pass up the opportunity to invite him back, Utah State University public relations students have jumped on the task to put into practice what they are learning.
Public relations students, through the mentoring of Parker, have taken on the task of publicizing the event. From press releases, to flyers and posters, to finding the best location on campus for a shredding truck, assignments have been uploaded onto a Google document where any public relations student can access the document to contribute.
Preston Parker has been the main point of communication with the attorney general’s office directly although his students can ask questions and contribute.
“I’ve worked directly with the office to get the date scheduled, October 22, and the time, from 4 – 7, specifically the attorney general from 6 – 7,” Parker said. “It’s been great working with the office and planning out 2 to 3 weeks into the future on this event.”
PR students have been in charge of scheduling the location and have been invited to include other prominent people. USU PR students are running on no budget, meaning they are relying heavily and solely on the ability of Utah State University locations to provide for advertising.
Natalie Curtis, junior in public relations, is a volunteer for Fusion Radio and has been communicating with Fusion to announce the visit. Curtis reserved a space for a banner announcing the event that will hang in the TSC October 20 – 22. Curtis has also developed an official social media hash tag, #utahagusu, that has been used by social media to publicize the event.
Curtis hopes people will want to hear what Shurtleff’s views are so they can become more educated about him and what he is doing for Utah.
“I just hope that people see it since we’re doing so much advertising and promotion,” Curtis said. “A lot of people will see it in different places and hopefully, from all these different angles, people will want to come and hear him speak.”
Curtis also set up a Facebook event page with information on the event.
Radio interviews have also taken place. Jessica Vasil, junior in political science and public relations participated in an interview with KVNU.
“I think it’s awesome because one of the things we talked about is that we’re literally taking ‘learn this on Tuesday, apply it on Wednesday’,” Vasil said. “I think it’s really cool to not have to wait and right away get an opportunity to apply what we’re learning.”
Renae Cowley, junior in agriculture communication, also participated in the radio interview. Cowley hopes the outcome will be big and hopes it will be talked about for a while.
“I hope that they’ll be talking about how the students came together and united and were able to take what they were learning and apply it through the diversity of media to communicate that message,” Cowley said.
Students are also e-mailing USU faculty and departments, getting on the Utah State University activity calendars, and getting news stories and coverage for the event. Students have also been involved in passing out leaflets, fliers, and placing posters around campus and the community. One goal is to not only get students to attend the event, but also members of the community.
Parker hopes people will come and become more educated on Shurtleff’s campaign on identity theft as the outcome of the event.
“People should show up and listen to his ten to fifteen minute speech on identify theft,” Parker said. “That will help people become aware of identity theft and for that matter the attorney general’s campaign on identify theft.”
Parker hopes the outcome of the project will provide students with experiences resulting in tangible material such as articles, press releases, and letters of recommendation that will benefit them in future career opportunities.
“That’s something that speaks much more than a resume,” Parker said. “You hand a portfolio over, and say ‘I can do these things, I’ve already done them. Give me an opportunity to do more’. We’re finding portfolios in real world experiences are what get our students internships in part time and full time positions.”
The Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, will visit Utah State University on October 22 to unveil the latest technology to stop consequences of identity theft. From 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Shurtleff’s crew will provide free shredding services to the public to promote his identity theft campaign. Between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., opening remarks will be made by the attorney general, Mark Shurtleff followed by a presentation on the IRIS (the Identity Theft Reporting Information System) by Scott Morrill. Enable Secure Shredding will give a presentation on shredding followed by a question and answer time on identity theft and Shurtleff’s campaign. The event will take place in the TSC Sunburst Lounge.
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