Real-life campaign

For three years now, students taking COM 453 have been getting a hands-on experience few classes can offer.

The 400-level communication class, taught by assistant professor Deborah Silverman, teaches students how to plan and conduct a public relations campaign throughout the course of the semester.

According to Silverman, who has run the class since its inception, each new batch of students that takes the class is better than the last.

"The students always come up with great ideas," Silverman said. "Our goal is to reach students on campus and run a successful ad campaign."

Every year the class runs a campaign on the same issue: organ and tissue donation. According to class members, while the tangible goal is to get as many students as possible to sign organ donor cards, the bigger aim is to raise awareness though their public relations campaign.

"We deal with life issues in this campaign," said Valerie Campbell, a senior communication major on the class's broadcasting team. "I like this class because you will definitely make a difference in the community."

To conduct their campaign, the students work with Upstate New York Transplant Services, and the 32-member class gets a budget of $2,250. Any other funds need to be raised by the students themselves.

Another component of the class is its many guest speakers, including Thomas Feeley, a doctor who researches organ and tissue donation and recently acquired a grant of almost $1 million for all SUNY schools to conduct classes and run campaigns similar to UB's COM 453.

In organizing their campaign, the students also got to tour Upstate New York Transplant Services and meet with the mother and father whose child received an organ donation.

Many students in the class said the experience has been invaluable.

"This class has taught me how to run a successful ad campaign instead of just reading about it in a book," said Cathy Casilio, a junior communication major. "When I enter the workforce, I will have a better idea of who to contact when running a campaign."

To run the campaign, the students are broken down into different teams: advertising, broadcast media, Internet, print media, advertising, and special events.

Last year the class organized events like bowling and dinner at the Steer to promote their campaign, and this year they will also give brief presentations in other communication classes and in health sciences classes.

Christa Yu, a senior communication major and special events team member, said all their planning will finally go into action in April.

"My group is responsible for promoting organ and tissue donations," Yu said. "We want the students to learn about our campaign and sign a donor card."

April 11 marks the kickoff for the public campaign. There will be tables in the Student Union, flyers around campus, events, and an informational Web site.

Local news and radio stations, according to class members, are also covering the campaign, and each year COM 453 seems to increase in profile and enrollment.

"For anyone interested in public relations, this is a great course to take," said Lauri Orlando, a junior communication major. "This (campaign) is excellent for employers to see on your r?(c)sum?(c), which gives you an advantage over your competitors in the search for a job."