Loyola’s Bateman team will present its “Stand Up, Reach Out” anti-bullying campaign on May 10 in the national finals for this year’s Bateman competition.

The Public Relations Student Society of America chose the three finalists from a field of 68 entrants. The team will be up against Kent State University and North Dakota State University in the finals.

The PRSSA officially announced the finalists on April 15. Cathy Rogers, adviser to Loyola’s Bateman team, said that she got the good news while she was in church on April 14. She then called the Bateman members to tell them.

“They might have been more excited than me, just because they’re the ones who did most of the work. So it’s really nice when it pays off like that, in a tangible kind of way,” Rogers said.

Vannia Zelaya, mass communication senior, said that from here the team must prepare to pitch its campaign to the judges on May 10. Every class period that the team meets is devoted to rehearsing the presentation.

The Bateman team will also hold rehearsals at Loyola that are open to the public.

This year’s team will have to utilize the resources of the digital age in the finals. Zelaya said that the finalists will be presenting their campaigns to the judges via Skype. In most years, the competition’s finals are conducted in person.

“I think it’s happened with other teams in the past, but it’s not common. Usually they travel,” Zelaya said. Leah Whitlock, mass communication junior, said that due to the interview being conducted via Skype, the format for the competition has changed. Usual aids such as Power Point presentations and other visual aids will be restricted. “Usually during presentations in person, there’s a power point presentation that they go off of. I guess it’s just more interactive as far as presentation goes. This year we’re allowed a four-page handout we’re allowed to give judges,” Whitlock said.

Loyola’s current team will be competing against not just the other two finalists, but it will also be challenged to uphold the standard of excellence previous Loyola teams have established. Loyola has finished as a finalist every year except once since 1997, and has won first place seven times.

Whitlock said that being named a finalist was the first step in continuing Loyola’s stellar performances in this competition.

“A lot of it was a sense of relief. We were very happy that we got into the top three, it was like our hard work paid off,” Whitlock said.

Karl Gommel can be reached at [email protected]