Welcome

Welcome to my blog! This Digital Newsroom will coincide with Team Three’s portfolio for Marist College’s Media Relations Class. I will share my thoughts on current media, as well as show my contributions to our team portfolio. Feel free to share your thoughts and hope you enjoy my blog!

Team Goal

Goal V.  Build a More Diverse and International College Community.

Initiative 3. “Increase the diversity of the student population across all parameters, including racial/ethnic, geographic, gender, socioeconomic, religious, and other characteristics” (Marist, 2011, p. 8).
 

Initiative 5. “Enhance programs and support services for underrepresented and international students.”(Marist, 2011, p. 8).
 

Initiative 7. “Increase the number of international students studying at Marist.” (Marist, 2011, p. 8). 

 

Marist College. (2011). Marist College strategic plan, 2011-2016 . Retrieved from

http://www.marist.edu/strategicplanning/pdfs/strategicplan.pdf

Evaluation of Communication Plan

The campaign will be evaluated by the following standards:

 

Bi Monthly enrollment evaluations:  Every other month, our team will compare the current year’s enrollment numbers to those of the year before. We will compare the number of international kids, the number of kids from out of state, and the specific race they are.

·         By the fall of 2020, we expect to see at least a 5%-10% increase in diverse applications. We are planning to build and maintain a diverse (racial, ethnic, and geographic) student population through education.

·         Increase the number of international students attending Marist every 5 years by 5-10%. 

Social media evaluations: Every spring and fall, our team will meet to compare the current use of social media for our campaign to those of the year before.  We will compare the number of times our promotional video is viewed, how many times our blogs were viewed, and the number of times the #OneMarist is used.

·         We expect each year to have 5% more views on our promotional video starting at 300 views.

·         We expect to have 400 blog post impressions/views and increase 5% each year.

·         Increasing the number of minorities who follow the Marist Facebook and Twitter page by 20% every 6 months.

·         Increase the use of the #OneMarist by 10% each school year.

 

In the event that in the fall of 2020 expectations are not met, the team will re-evaluate their strategies and make immediate and appropriate changes for the campaign’s future.

Social Media News Release

Cultural Clubs At Marist

About Marist

• Marist College, located within the Hudson River valley in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York is dedicated to making the student population and community grow in diversity moving forward.

• As noted in its strategic plan, Marist College is "A diverse community united by a shared commitment to the free exchange of ideas, consideration of the opinions of others, and civility in all our interactions".

• The College offers social clubs and activities for different cultures and backgrounds through the homepage of the Marist website under student life in the college activities and organizations section; a number of clubs to choose from based on the type of activities students would be like to engage in.

 

Time To Get Involved!

• Marist Clubs and activities provide a more community-feel for students. In its values statement, Marist College hopes for a sense of community, looking for individuals to form lifelong bonds. These clubs and activities will help aid in the growth of the diverse community.

• Marist is dedicated to helping students develop the intellect and character required for enlightened, ethical, and productive lives in the global community of the 21st century.

• Two well-known clubs at the College to help spread diversity are the International Students Club and the Black Student Union.

 

International Students Club

• This is a club at Marist that focuses on the educational as well as the entertaining side of different cultures at each meeting they have with they student members. Their goal is to provide social, cultural, and political awareness at the College while being able to create unity and equality. A club handbook is provided for more information.

• Trips taken with the International Students Club: Buddhist monastery, lesson in African drumming, Palestine panel discussion, and a field trip to the U.N. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

 

Black Student Union

• This organization has students from the College of all different races learn more about the culture, lifestyle, and history of the African American race. Strong leadership is the key to having a successful intellectual, social and cultural environment.

• See member Dominique during BSU's Open Mic night.

• Check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Members of the BSU executive board with President Murray of Marist College

Huba Mduda: Far right

Huba Mduda

• Sophomore
• From Tanzania, East Africa
• Executive board of Black Student Union
• Marist Ambassadors

 

• As her second year of being apart of the Black Student Union, Huba Mduda is proud to be at Marist College and enjoys her experiences there so far. "I like being able to learn about cultures other than mine and also learn the experiences that other diverse students go through" she said. Being on the executive board of the BSU, Mduda holds a number of meetings with the organization, along with community service monthly, and is able to learn from her peers just by being in the club with them.

• A big event that just took place with the help of the Black Student Union was the Mon Afrique. (See below for more information)

• Based on her goals, Mduda wants to network within these clubs she is apart of and wants to make as many friends as she can. She said, "I think it is good for international students to network and always meet new people because it will help them with their comfort level at the College".  Over he tenure at Marist, Mduda feels more and more students are joining new clubs and activities and especially are bringing great ideas to the table.

• I asked Mduda what she wished were different when it comes to Marist and their support of the clubs and activities for diversity and she replied, "I wish they (Marist) would admit more international students like myself so we can have a larger number of diverse students at this amazing school from all over than we do now. But, for the College to accept more international students, we need more to apply! The clubs keep growing but we want more students".
 
• A message Mduda would like to give people us "Any type of club on campus helps students meet other people of the same interests, and these clubs help you create great relationships with everyone".

 

Mon Afrique

• This fun and huge event takes place each year at Marist College to show African awareness while everyone is able to experience a taste of African. This event's purpose is to "inform, educate, and entertain administrators, students of all backgrounds as well as the community about African culture. People from the College express their backgrounds experiences of being African. The whole night includes authentic food, drinks and great music! People are able to show off their talents such as singing, dancing and showing off their African culture proudly. Education is the main focus of the night to revive the African continent and empower young African students achieve to greater heights.

 



Mon Afrique event

 

 

Get in on the conversation! What do you think about the clubs here at Marist? Especially, what about the BSU and the International Student Club? Share your thoughts on Twitter, using the #OneMarist and #WelcomeatMarist and tweet at @MaristBSU or @MaristIntlClub. Questions about any club here at Marist? Connect with us on Facebook or Twitter using #OneMarist or #WelcomeatMarist.

 

Social Media Samples

Social media can be an important piece to a communication plan. According to Solis and Breakenridge (2009), "As part of the New Media regime, strategically participating in Social Media is not only critical to the evolution of PR, but it’s also essay to effectively communicate with the people which can help extend the conversations that impact your business" (p. 165). The use of social media is continuing to grow because it allows people to share, create or exchange different ideas, information, pictures, and videos in communities and networks. "Simply put, Social Media comprises the tools for people to create, share, and publish content online" (Solis & Breakenbridge, 2009, p. 31). Three popular Social Media networks used especially in the college environment are Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Twitter is social messaging with the ability to follow people and have followers. People who tweet are only allowed to post messages shorter than 140 characters. Facebook is a social media network that allows registered users to create profiles, upload videos and pictures, and send messages to stay in touch with family, friends, and colleagues. Lastly, Instagram is a social networking app made for  photo-sharing and video-sharing on a smartphone.

Twitter Post Samples

@Marist Make sure to checkout our promotional video for #OneMarist #WelcomeatMarist https://comg503team3.wordpress.com/portfolio/promotional-video/

@Marist Be sure to follow @MaristBSU and @MaristIntlClub and learn more about these clubs!

@Marist Check out stories related to affirmative action and diversity at Marist College and follow @MaristDiversity #Diversityworks #OneMarist

Marist Facebook

Interested in Marist? Want to learn more about the community? Check out our website and learn all about the different things Marist has to offer. #WelcomeatMarist #OneMarist
www.marist.edu

Marist Instagram

Like our photos at our account @Marist

Marist Men's Lax to Host Bryant For First NCAA Game

 

Image: Goredfoxes.com

 

Marist men's lacrosse team is continuing to make history for the red foxes. On May 2nd, 2015 Marist men's lacrosse won it's second Metro Atlantic Conference Championship in program history, since 2005. 10 years later, the red foxes were able to do it again. defeating the Quinnipiac bobcats 16-14, which earns the MAAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

On May 3rd at 9 p.m. on ESPNU, the red foxes found out their next opponent and will host the Bryant Bulldogs in the preliminary round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will be held today May 6th at 7 p.m. hosted by the red foxes. Today will be the first time Marist has hosted an NCAA Tournament game in any of the 23 varsity sports there. Click here to see a video and more about it. If the red foxes win tonight at home, they will have a chance to compete with the Syracuse men's lacrosse team this Sunday up at the Carrier Dome.

For the first time this season, Marist lax made the top 20 rankings in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association and Cascade/Maverik Media polls.

Best of Luck tonight to the Marist Lacrosse team and GO RED FOXES!

Empty Stadium For Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles took the field on Wednesday afternoon and all they heard was silence. Defeating the Chicago White Sox 8-2 in front of a total of zero people in attendance, this became the all-time record for the lowest attendance number at a professional baseball game. The public was shut out due to the concerns of what has been happening with the Freddie Gray incident and the Baltimore riots for the past few days. See more on the Baltimore riots and Freddie Gray.

 Image: CNN

Camden Yards' capacity is for nearly 46,000 rowdy fans, but that day an eerily empty stadium made baseball very weird that day.  Major League Baseball's official historian John Thorn said, "Baseball is filled with the strange, but this is beyond strange" (CNN Article).
After a strikeout, a homerun, and even at the end of an inning, there were no roars or cheers from the fans, which made it very different and weird for the players. Some players told reporters how strange it was actually hearing how loud the ball is when it struck the bat once they hit it. Although the public were not allowed to attend the game inside the stadium, people were supporting the Orioles outside the gates cheering and continued to support their team.
There were some strange moments from the Baltimore Orioles game. Some of the Oriole players were trying to make light of the situation by signing fake autographs to the imaginary fans, throwing the ball after the end of an inning in the stands, and tipping their hats and waving to the stands like people were actually in them. Even though the Oriole players and the organization wish the public could be in attendance, they understood the circumstances and care more about the safety of their city. Thorn said, "The Orioles and Major League Baseball have clearly placed the primary issue of public safety over the secondary issue of profit and the tertiary issue of scheduling convenience," (CNN).

Here you can watch an update on the Baltimore riots that also shows more on the empty Baltimore Orioles baseball game that was played.