My Party is Full of Racists

Money, God and Politics. These are three topics that shouldn’t be discussed at a dinner party. The subject of politics, however, is on everyone’s mind. With the election coming up (go vote everyone!), politics are getting a lot more coverage, and some politicians (that shouldn’t) have decided to give their opinions on certain topics.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and stances. I completely understand that a cumulation of life experiences and a person’s location can influence their political leanings. I’m a Democrat, but I can’t hate Republicans as a whole. I like to think that each political party wants the best for our nation, and their decisions are based on that and that alone.

Of course, I know that the world isn’t quite so innocent and ideal. Deciding on a party should be a difficult decision, or a least a thoroughly informed one. However, I don’t really think people join parties based on that. I think that most of the time, it’s based on your general area’s perception. Sometimes, it’s based on things.

Colin Powell, a Republic, didn’t follow Republican convention when he endorsed Obama for President this election season. This video talked a bit about a Republican’s comment about Colin’s motivations behind this endorsement and how his comment hinted at an innate racism within the Republican party.

Obviously, racism is a bad word. We’re taught that racists are bad people – or at least my generation was taught that.  A few people in a party shouldn’t make me dislike it. I know nothing’s perfect. Republicans don’t have a great image. In my area, even their news source- Fox News- is regularly criticized. I know that each Republican senator or congressman has to have a person who tells them what to say and not what to say to their civilians. If they don’t have one, then I really suggest they get a PR team.

At this point, I’m not even surprised to hear comments like these and that’s disappointing in general. I shouldn’t want to mock people who represent us in the United States. Not everyone’s going to agree with me on issues, but that doesn’t mean that I take it upon myself to speak out and try to change people’s opinions. I really think that a lot of these congressmen and senators aren’t thinking about what their public wants. When you don’t connect with your public, you won’t get re-elected and I really think that a person in power should consider that at all times and not just when it’s election time.

#PJ4Prez

November 12 through 15 are election voting days!!!! Or at least, those are the Student Association’s voting days for 2012.

Syracuse’s Student Association’s (SA) mission statement is (for those of you who are unaware),

“Student Association is the official student governing body of Syracuse University and SUNY ESF undergraduate students. We serve to represent students in all facets of University life. Through our committees and overall initiatives and goals, Student Association strives to meet its core mission: to represent and be the defender of the students.”

Personally, I’ve been aware that they worked on campus and that they’ve helped some of my organizations out, but for the most part I haven’t really cared about them. However, after this weekend, I have to change my mind.

One presidential hopeful has somehow managed to create a PR campaign that I care about! Officially, it all started when PJ Alampi, presidential hopeful, announced his intent to run for president. It wasn’t a dry event involving a stadium and suits. No. It was a flash mob. If there’s on thing that I love and appreciate, it’s a flash mob.

Then, I began to see PJ for president t-shirts I saw around campus.

 

Then, there were postcards with his face and hashtag (#PJ4Prez) everywhere.

Considering random people were talking about his campaign, I figured that his promotional team was pretty great, but then I saw this.

Then, I saw this.

In regards to promotion, I have to say that PJ is definitely winning. He appeared on ESPN after all! The flash mob makes him seem like he’s fun to the people that attended. Even if you’re unaware of the SA election, you’re probably aware of his face and name. He’s putting himself out there, and that’s a lot more than I can say for any other candidate.

Now, I know PJ, but that doesn’t mean I have to be excited for his campaign. However, after all of this, put me on board! Anyone with such a motivated team (here’s to Adrianna-the girl with the glitter on her face and PJ’s big head poster) definitely deserves some attention. Now, let’s see how he promotes his plans for the school! Maybe he can hash tag it using #PJ4Prez? I’m looking forward to his creative ideas!

Memos Gone Wrong

In an ideal world, every corporation would aim to please its publics. However, we don’t live in an ideal world and, after reading a story from the Huffington Post, that’s become clearer to me.

This is David Siegel. David Siegel, the CEO of a giant timeshare, sent an email to his employees with a vaguely threating message. Siegel insinuated to his workers that, if Obama was re-elected as the President of the United States, he would be forced to lay off workers. He’s not the only CEO to try to influence his employee’s political opinion. The same article in the Huffington Post mentioned that Richard Lacks, CEO of Lacks Enterprises, is urging his employees to vote for Mitt Romney for somewhat similar reasons.

It’s frustrating that companies are actively attempting to control its employee’s decisions to such an extent. There are always going to be repercussions when a new president is elected. Everyone’s entitled to his or her own opinion, but it would have been nice if Siegel had stated the flip side of that situation. What would happen if Romney became president, and how it would affect his employees? It seems to me that these CEOs and leaders are pushing their opinions on their employees. Granted it’s from the outside looking in, but it looks like his employees aren’t really valued.

Hearing this makes me wonder if Siegel’s employees are unhappy and if, in turn, it’s adversely affecting their work. I understand that the elections are coming up, but that doesn’t mean that it’s ok to push people to vote the same thing as you. Personally, it looks seems like a lack of respect on the CEO’s part, and that probably mean his employees dislike him. Either way, I can’t see a Public Relations team endorsing Siegel’s email, or at least, accepting the way he wrote it.

I hope the Siegel understands that his actions don’t just affect his employees. His investors and possible customers may not be pleased with him right now. Everyone has an opinion, but that doesn’t mean that they have to be thrown into someone’s face. In the end, I’m disappointed and I hope that Siegel understands that, whatever his intentions were, his email will have repercussions, whether he notices it or not.

Parent’s Weekend

As a resident advisor, I communicate with my publics on a daily basis. More specifically, I interact with most of my residents and bosses daily. However, this weekend was Parent’s Weekend. Parents came from all around the country-no, really, they told me-to see their children. I had to interact with a public that I’m not used to seeing. The first time I met the parents was on move-in day, when they were emotional about their children leaving, and this weekend was about the same for some parents. Other parents, however, were clearly excited to see the Syracuse football game.

Meanwhile, in my residence hall, I was giving away t-shirts to families and trying to convince them to take pictures in front of a football background. A lot more people were interested in the t-shirts than the picture, but the main point was to make families feel connect to the school and its activities. I don’t think that there isn’t really much for the parent’s to do within the University during the weekend, except for touring, so it was our role to make sure that they could get to know us and have some fun in the process.

I think that Parent’s Weekend is a great way for Syracuse University to reach out to one of its main publics. As a representative of the school, I have to make sure that I let parents know that they’re appreciated and, while it is not a public that I have to deal with everyday, it is definitely one that the school deals with on a daily basis. It’s smart for the school to give itself a face (or faces) that parents can identify with.

Now, Parent Weekend has ended pretty well. The school does it well, and I thought it was interesting to be part of a public that also serves the public.

Guilty Pleasure

Everyone, I have a confession – I used to be addicted to Cosmo.

Ok, maybe my addiction isn’t that big of a deal. After all, Cosmo -or Cosmopolitan- has a huge following. It’s following consists of mainly females -it’s tagline is “For the Fun Fearless Female”-, but I’m not going to say only females read it because that’s just not true. If you don’t believe me, you can go on their website and see a tab that’s for men. Cosmopolitan prides itself on sexy ideas and relationship advice for its readers so of course some men would be interested in it. Actually, a lot of different people are interested in it.

Personally, I don’t remember the first time I started reading Cosmo. However, I do remember the first time I saw one of the magazines. The cover was bright yellow, the words were in Spanish, and  an adult took it away from me the moment I touched it. I couldn’t read the magazine – that was when I decided to learn how to read Spanish because those adults were obviously trying to hide something from me- but I knew that it was something that adults read. Of course my interest was piqued.

I no longer read Cosmo for various reasons, but I recognize it’s appeal. Sex, designer brands and beauty tips are things that people want to know about and Cosmo offers its. By reading the magazine, you’re finding out how to be a better you. You’re given the secret on how to please your partners – you don’t even want to get me started on that- and know what a community of women are thinking and wearing. Of course, I disagree with a lot of those previous statements, but I have to admit that Cosmo knows what its doing! I don’t agree with a lot of the images promoted by Cosmo, but I certainly have to agree that they have a good business sense.

Cosmo has a very wide public that ranges through different age groups to different genders and different countries worldwide. It’s a worldwide guilty pleasure. I still got judged by a lot of my male friends for reading it, but at the end of the day guess who wanted to read it too? Of course, they were critical of it, but it was an entertaining read and that’s what were were looking for.

Cosmo has a large public and it interacts with them in a fun way. It’s like that older sister that has all these tips for you and that you listen to with rapt attention. Of course, their advice isn’t always correct and can be a bit degrading. My goal in life is not to please a suitor, which is what a large part of the magazine is dedicated to. I’m never going to be like the girls featured in Cosmo, but that’s what a lot of people are aiming for. I decided not to read Cosmo when I realized that they were filling my head with ideas that weren’t true at all. However, that’s just me and I’ll always remember the thrill I got when I read it with my friends. I will say though, think about the ideas that Cosmo is giving you about what women should be, do and look like. Is this all around  “perfect” being even possible?

Finally, on a brighter note, I will concede that despite Cosmo’s faults the Cosmo Confessions are hilarious! I definitely still open up  o that section when my friends have the magazine lying around. This leads me to another revelation. My second guilty pleasure is reading about other people’s embarrassing and awkward moments.