America University Students Get Personal with Coming-out Monologues

American University students Lex Loro, David Troy and Nate
Caspari after the "Coming-out Monologues" on campus at
Letts Hall, Oct. 8, 2014 (Photo by Bose Mpuchane).

American University’s LGBT community got together to share their coming-out stories. The event was held on-campus Oct.8, 2014 and apparently inspired by the famous “Vagina Monologues.”

More than 50 members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer group and their allies came to the show. 10 students did monologues written either by themselves or by people who wanted to stay anonymous. Most of them talked about finally understanding who they really were, and the difficulties and relief that came with that knowledge.

It was interesting to find that LGBTQ relationships have the same problems as heterosexual ones, including the issue of abuse. One monologue described the abuse a gay man suffered by his boyfriend. He talked about staying in the relationship longer than he should have, which is something battered women seem to experience. Another topic covered was the influence culture plays in being LGBTQ. The speaker was an Indian man who was afraid to tell his parents he was gay. He felt his parents wouldn’t accept him because of their conservative background. But they ended up being okay with it.

The piece the crowd seemed to like the most was performed by Lex Loro, despite the fact that it was a repeat performance. She basically wrote a 12-step guide to her younger self, telling her not to worry when things go wrong because things did get better. She talked about coming to "Gay U" and finally meeting people who openly accepted her homosexuality.

Alex Knorr is a lesbian who came to support the cause and watch her roommate perform. This was the second one she had attended. When asked about what the event meant to her, she said "When I first found out about the event, I was in the process of coming out. It gave me a platform to come out to my family in a way that I was in charge of and knew I was going to be positively received."

Knorr's roommate, Emily Ellis, considers the shows to be a safe space for queer people to come share their experiences. Additionally, she finds them a way non-LGBTQ people can show their support and educate themselves. A worker at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Caroline Deleon, asked herself why she had never been before.

Social Media in Business and Why What People Think is More Important Than What Is

Various uses of social media in business
(Picture credit to http://www.langleynewmedia.com/)

“More people have married Britney Spears and Kim Kardsahisan than died from Ebola (in America)” this is what Mark Skoda said last week.  He went on to say that despite this the media is making it seem like Ebola is going to kill us all tomorrow.  Five panelists came to American University last week to discuss the use of social media in business.  The most important take away was that public relations and the use of social media is not meant to change what is but what people think. 

Social media is not something that most businesses like to use.  Most find themselves forced to use it out of an “abundance of caution” said Peter LaMotte.   Businesses have realized that the best thing to do during a crisis is not to bury their head under the sand but to be proactive.  To do so the advice of Peter was to head off controversies before they begin through the use of social media.  His advice is to admit to everything and be honest.  However, he also recommends spinning the story so that the company comes out on top.  This is why public relation firms are hired.  They specialize in turning a bad story into something that looks good for the company.  During a crisis there is rarely more than “0.2%” (Peter) of the population actually effected by the crisis.  However, media can make it seem like an overwhelming majority are.  The public relations firms must then respond and make sure people don’t overreact. 

Social media is also becoming more important because now it is one of the easiest ways to actually get a story out.  Rather than send a story to a famous journalist, businesses are sending stories to famous bloggers instead said Geoff Living.  Bloggers are far more willing to publish stories and they can do so faster and with less oversight.  This enables companies to get the message they want out.

FOOD MARKETING SPECIALISTS GIVE AU STUDENTS SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Potomac Pizza owner, Adam Greenberg (center), talks to the audience about his marketing tactics for his local pizza chain on Wednesday October 29, 2014. Pictured from left to right: moderator Douglas Heacox, Jason Swegman, Constantine Stavropolous, and Charae Carter Jenkins. (Photo Credit by Nikki Gale).

             American University’s Kogod Marketing Association hosted a panel about food and restaurant marketing called Appetizing Advertising. The event, held on Wednesday, featured four panelists that work in the Washington, D.C. area in the restaurant marketing. They worked for the following restaurants: Chipotle, Krispy, Potomac Pizza, and D.C. restaurants, such as Open City and Tryst. 

The event, held in the Kogod School of Business’s Student Lounge, started with moderator and School of Communication professor, Douglas Heacox, introducing the panelists, two of which happen to be AU alums.

As questions were being asked, you could tell that none of the restaurants and representatives at the event were like the other. They all had a very different variety of foods and markets that they to cater to. For example, Charae Cater Jenkins, who works for Chipotle, said: “Chipotle is pretty cool because we don’t really advertise [that much] because everyone knows about our food.” Not many restaurants as lucky as large Mexican fast food chain which opens two new stores everyday. People like Adam Greenberg, owner of the local Potomac Pizza, have different marketing tactics. “You can never advertise enough, ” said Greenberg. Constantine Stavropolous of Open City and Tryst opts for no advertising. He promotes his D.C. restaurants through different public relations and media promotions. Before he opened the coffee shop, Tryst, he did two PR stunts. The first one he did was take a couch and put it on a bridge. Then, Stavropolous called into a radio station and talked about the people on the couch and how they were giving away coffee to promote Tryst. He then took the Tryst logo, a couch, and had people chalk the logo on the streets to bring people’s awareness about the Adams Morgan hangout. This is to give people the idea of what their business is instead of doing traditional marketing. Krispy Kreme, like Chipotle, is not big on advertising. But, they are promoting their doughnuts by doing special event days like “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” “The conversations and the memories and the joy you bring to people’s lives in the special events what we thrive on…,”said Jason Swegman of Krispy Kreme.

            KMA puts on these event panels to show students what it’s like to advertise and promote businesses on a professional level. Last year, the pre-professional organization had a fashion marketing specialists speak at an event similar to Appetizing Advertising. And, the students that attend KMA events enjoy them. Students like sophomore, Sarah Graham, attended the event for the following: “Yes, I did enjoy the event because I am also interested in marketing but as well as the food industry and that’s what I hope to go into one day.” 

"Thelma and Louise" Star Advocates Gender Equality In The Media

Geena Davis visits American University, Oct. 18, 2014. The Academy Award winner speaks to students, parents and faculty about her illustrious career. (Photo credit American University Student Government)

“I had this unshakable, idiotic faith that I was going to be in the movies,” Geena Davis recalled of the time her three-year-old self told her parents she wanted to be an actor. The academy award winner visited American University Friday, Oct. 18. In an event presented by the American University Student Government, Davis spoke to students, parents and faculty about how her diverse career in the entertainment industry has led her to advocate for women in the media.

“I’m still really the same dorky kid that I was when I was growing up,” Davis assured the audience as she took to the podium. It seems hard to believe considering this woman has played the first female president in “Commander in Chief,” one of the world’s best female baseball players in “A League of Their Own” and most recently a fetal surgeon on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Perhaps the role Davis is most famously known for is Thelma, in “Thelma and Louise” which Davis says was a pivotal experience for her. Playing Thelma, Davis realized her passion for advocating for women and girls in the media.

So much so that Davis founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media. As an actor she is acutely aware of how few great roles there are for women. Davis especially noticed that there seemed to be fewer female characters than male characters in movies and television created for children. “We should be showing kids that girls and boys share the sandbox equally,” Davis said. In the fictitious worlds that are created for children there is only about a 17 percent female presence. “I had no idea it was that low,” said Rachel Scalzo, a sophomore at American University, “It’s not an issue I think about a lot.”

In a world that is half female, Davis presents a frightening statistic. Davis’ institute is producing the most research ever done on the topic of female underrepresentation in content created for children. “We need to dramatically improve how women and girls are portrayed to children 11 and under,” said Davis of her mission. Her crusade does seem to be working. Davis and her institute have been taking their findings directly to the creators of content for children. Once they hear what a negative message they are putting out, Davis has found that they are eager to make a change. “It’s an offbeat niche,” said another American University sophomore, Ji Won Shin, “But it’s nice to hear the higher-ups are actually listening!”