To the editors:
The Public Relations Cases and Campaigns class (Hype Public Relations) is disappointed with the outcome of The Maroon’s Feb. 25 story about the work our class is doing for Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans.
One writer, two photographers and one editor took five weeks to produce a page-three, below-the-fold story featuring fact errors and misquotes that misrepresented both our class and our client.
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves academically capable students, known as Boys Hope Girls Hope Scholars, who lack the environment and opportunity to reach their full potential by providing the best education, personal tutors and round-the-clock family support.
The article’s title and body, however, inaccurately refer to Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans as a boarding school and center for students who are “disadvantaged and abused.” This undermines the organization’s commitment to creating a family-like and encouraging environment. The scholars live and eat together as a family. It is in no way an institution for them. In one instance, a Girls Hope Scholar told Hype Public Relations that she didn’t know what it means to have a father and mother, but that Boys Hope Girls Hope had given her a family.
The article incorrectly implies the Rev. Paul Sheridan, S.J., established the New Orleans Boys Hope Girls Hope affiliate. Although Sheridan founded the national organization, the Rev. Harry W. Tompson, S.J., and Hon. Adrian Duplantier established the New Orleans affiliate in 1980.
This mistake prevented the article from mentioning that Duplantier was an alumnus of Loyola University College of Law, therefore connecting the two organizations in a way that could have benefited or interested Maroon readers.
The work our class is doing was also misrepresented. We are providing Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans with a “free campaign,” as stated in The Maroon, but it misses the entire point of our class involvement. The seven students of PR Cases and Campaigns have worked since the fall 2010 semester to create a specialized campaign for this unique client.
The opportunity to have hands-on experience is rare for most students and this article neglects the intense work our small team of students has completed in such a short time. We often meet 10 hours per week outside of class and produce additional material during our own time. We have surveyed hundreds of people, compiled dozens of case studies and developed a framework for campaign implementation.
Our campaign will improve Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans’ communication with the New Orleans community and strengthen relationships with current and potential donors. To do this, Hype is developing a social media campaign that will cut costs; identifying and building relationships with long-term donors; and revamping existing programs for possible improvements. These methods will help communicate their unique identity.
Articles written about work your fellow Loyola students are doing to advance our institution should accurately reflect that work. The amount of material we provided and the number of times we agreed to meet with The Maroon staff should have generated a more precise and substantial piece.
However, the article that was printed was a product of poor research and sloppy reporting that could have easily been avoided.
The students of Loyola University New Orleans are now misinformed, a fault of The Maroon’s that has become an entirely new tactic of our campaign instead of focusing on the ways our class can help Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans. Loyola community, keep a look out for our campaign implementation around campus for Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans.
Sincerely,
The Public Relations Cases and Campaigns class
