In the world of public relations there are many different areas a student can enter when graduating. Sports PR is the section of public relations that is for people who not only love to write and love sports, but love to celebrate victories on and off the field.

Charles Bloom, Associate commissioner for media relations for the Southeastern Conference came to speak to Auburn University students April 8, 2009. During his speech he gave a brief glimpse at what working in sports public relations is like.

Bloom works at the conference level so his experience is much different than someone that would just be working for an individual school such as Auburn University. But, Bloom was able to tell about his experience when he was working at the institution level for sports PR.

People have to be able to appreciate public victories on the field or court as well as private victories. Private victories are in the classroom and are achieved through promoting and assisting the student athlete.

Only one percent of all student athletes go to play professional sports said Bloom. So it’s very important that when working in sports PR especially college you take pride in student achievements and their accomplishments both on and off the field.

Bloom said at the conference level when hiring employees they look for people who “come ready to play.” They need to show proficiency and skills they need to have for the job. He says students should get involved and get real experience in PR if they can. Bloom is the president elect for 2010 for the Public Relations Society of America for Alabama so he encouraged getting involved in public relations programs on campus or in the community.

There are many different applications of sports public relations Bloom says. Media Relations is a very important angle that has changed as technology changes. PR agents develop stories and pitch ideas to promote the student athletes to the media.

Television and Radio contracts are also an important aspect of sports PR. As the social networks and the media affect PR, PR professionals must learn how to educate their athletes on the hazards of social media.

Messages can be sent out in many ways, institutions can push out messages through their own PR departments; marketing offices can also push tickets, themes or campaigns. PR specialist for individual institutions must also deal with coordinating interviews for the athletes.

Customer Relations is another aspect Bloom mentioned. In sports there will always be some sort of customer relations issues that can arise.

Bloom said the NCAA has a very proactive PR department and they strongly promote student academics , equality, sportsmanship, hard work and the lessons the athletes learn from sports.

Stephanie Millhouse a senior in public relations says she really enjoyed Bloom’s speech. She says she probably won’t go into Sports PR but it definitely interests her. Millhouse learned that her Survey Methods class she is currently in will definitely help her in any PR field she enters after graduation.

Bloom says “I have a great job,” when a student asks what his favorite aspect is. Blooms says he loves making inter-collegiate athletics a better place and feeling like he’s a part of the progress.



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Mattel celebrates Barbie’s 50th anniversary today. Barbie is an iconic image of an American doll and woman for that matter. Mattel has sold more than 1 billion Barbie dolls worldwide. The Barbie brand ranges from not only dolls but clothes, shoes, houses, horses, movies and much more.

Barbie has been the image of a powerful woman since she was created. She has been dressed as everything from a scuba diver, a pop star, a chef to the president. Girls all over the world have opened their imaginations for 50 years and dreamed of what Barbie can do.

Everyone is honoring the legendary doll this year, in Australia a giant Barbie replica cake was displayed in Sydney at their botanical gardens. Other festivities to celebrate Barbie’s birthday included a fashion show in New York during fashion week. Fifty designers teamed up with Mattel to create Barbie inspired outfits for a Barbie worthy fashions show in February.

The fashion show at Mercedes Benz fashion week, showed how Barbie has changed her style as the times have changed. Barbie has always been fashionable, and for many girls, Barbie was their first glimpse at fashion and clothes obsessions. Models dressed as Barbie for the runway show seemed appropriate since Barbie is a style icon for many.

Barbie has also become a collector item as well as just a toy. There are Web sites devoted to Barbie collectors and sellers. These collectors have created their own terminology and joined Barbie fan sites. On EBay there are Barbie dolls selling for as high as $14,000 but many original Barbie’s are selling for around $1,000.

Jessica Wilson, a Clothes Rack employee, is a big fan of Barbie. She says, "I grew up playing with Barbie, it was the only doll I really liked." Wilson says she always loved dressing up her Barbie dolls and agrees that Barbie wouldn’t be the same without her fashion. "I think Barbie is a great toy for kids still," says Wilson. She says that when she was 7 years old she never thought about body image and feels most children today are the same. Wilson says that she thinks it was great Barbie had a runway show this year and it is a great way to celebrate the icon.

As with anything, there is a group of people who have hated Barbie for years. Anti-Barbie.com is a group site which bashes Barbie, other people post YouTube videos about how they hate the doll and Mattel. Other groups bash Mattel for giving her the perfect body and sending out the wrong message to girls.

Regardless of what the anti-Barbie groups say, Barbie has empowered women for years, giving girls something to believe in when they’re young which has carried through as they get older. Mom’s bought their daughters Barbie in 1959, and the tradition remains today. Even with her changes, Barbie remains a timeless icon and toy for girls around the world.




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Spring break is a college student’s time to let loose and enjoy time away from school. However, if you become to care free you could be in danger. Each year millions of college students go somewhere for spring break hoping to forget about school for a week and have a great time.

Every year with the growing number of college students more and more students flock to vacation spots hoping to set their inhibitions to the wind. Most are hoping to come back with a tan, a hangover and a few good stories to tell their friends. If you aren’t careful you’ll have too much fun and have a frightening story that could land you raped, robbed or worse, dead.

Trey Burbic, a senior at Auburn University, tells about his trip to Jamaica last year. Burbic was robbed on the first night of the trip while he was out with friends, robbed of his cell phone, wallet and the majority of his money. Stunned he spent the next day trying to recover what had been stolen from him.

Burbic landed himself in another awkward situation while in Jamaica. Burbic and a few friends took a taxi one day and when it was time to pay the driver didn’t agree with the price the students were trying to pay. The taxi driver pulled a machete out on them and threaten that they had to pay the price he said, although it was unreasonably high. They quickly agreed to his increased price as he threatened the group and left the car as quickly as possible.

Communities that host spring breakers usually have locals that are watching for college students who aren’t paying attention. Especially now with a struggling economy students traveling should be even more cautious for pick-pocketers and other people who look suspicious.

Also students traveling internationally should be even more aware of their surroundings. Always stick with your group and never leave anyone behind. Natalee Holloway, the Mountain Brook High School student who went missing in Aruba, was left behind by her friends the night she went missing. This is a sad but perfect example. Never leave a friend behind, regardless of the situation. When you are in unfamiliar territory anything could happen, so assume the worse and stick with your group.

Another important tip when traveling abroad, learn a few important phrases if you don’t know the native language. If something were to happen where you might need the police or help, learn a few phrases that could help get you out of trouble or just in the right direction.

Keeping track of your travel documents and emergency numbers is another necessity. Making copies of everything and leaving them with someone at home will help in case documents are lost, stolen or damaged. Even if you are just going to Destin,Fla. you should give your guardian a few of your friends numbers just in case something happens and they can’t get in touch with you.
Overall pay attention to your surroundings wherever you are. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t, so listen to your inner senses.

Risky behavior, alcohol, drugs and unexpected accidents can affect your safety so remember to pay attention, stick with your friends and think things through. Be careful and don’t risk what you have for stupidity that could affect the rest of your life.




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The James I. Harrison School of Pharmacy is the oldest professional school on Auburn’s campus. Established in 1885, it is the only public pharmacy school in Alabama and the only school to offer a graduate program. The school is highly selective in their admissions process because they usually receiver two to three applicants for each one space in the program.
Thuvan Nguyen, a junior at Auburn University, was one of the few people selected for pharmacy school for the upcoming fall. Nguyen knew decided she wanted to be a pharmacist in high school when she worked at a restaurant that a local pharmacist visited frequently. After asking him about his job she became very interested and decided she wanted to be a pharmacist as well.
Nguyen’s parents are both biomedical scientist so that adds to her interest in the medical field. She said the application process for Auburn’s pharmacy school made her very nervous but she chose to do “early decision” so if she got accepted into Auburn’s pharmacy school she had to go to Auburn.
Nguyen said the application process consisted of an application that students fill out online. The application includes a list of all of their information and previous classes. There is also an essay students must fill out which explains mainly why they want to be a pharmacist. Students applying for pharmacy school must also take the PCAT. The PCAT is usually what students fear the most. Nguyen said “most people usually end up taking the PCAT at least twice.”
After you have submitted your application and it has been reviewed by faculty, people will either be extended an interview or not. If you are not invited to a interview then you must either apply the next semester or apply at another school. The interview is given by faculty and current pharmacy students.
When asked what advice she would give students applying for pharmacy school Nguyen said “study hard!” She said studying hard keeps your GPA high which gives you an advantage over other students. She also so you need to talk to your professors about what you can do to get a competitive advantage over other students. Also taking part in extra credit research opportunities can help you see early on what you will be involved in once accepted into pharmacy school.
Nguyen worked at Walgreens in Birmingham the past two summers when she wasn’t taking classes at Auburn. She said she highly recommends working in a pharmacy so you can learn how to do all of the basic things in a pharmacy. She also said she made some great connections which will hopefully help her in the future.
Nguyen said if she had not been accepted into Auburn’s pharmacy school she would probably have tried to go to Samford University in Birmingham or Mercer University in Atlanta. She said that not only was she already at Auburn and loved the school but it has the best pharmacy program in the State.
Auburn’s pharmacy school has a long standing reputation for excellence. Since it was founded it has continued to improve the practice of medicine and patient care methods. Nguyen looks forward to beginning pharmacy school in the fall.




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Valentine’s Day leaves many college students wondering what to do with their significant other or what to do alone. Many decisions face college students daily so why should we worry about what to do on Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be a stressful day. You should be able to spend quality time with your significant other or just your friends and celebrate the day of love.

Here are some thoughts from students and non-students about what Valentine’s Day means to them and what they’ll spend the day doing. I interviewed a married couple, Drew and Bailey Himel from Jacksonville, Fla., and asked them what they will be doing for Valentine’s Day. Bailey said she wasn’t sure what they will be doing but always loves that Valentine’s Day reveals something new about each of them and their relationship. Secretly Drew Himel told me he had a surprise weekend planned for him and Bailey. Drew said they would be going to a bed and breakfast for the weekend on Amelia Island.

I interviewed another couple from Jacksonville who have been dating for three years Tess Eichhorn and Matt Pettry. When I asked Eichhorn what Valentine’s Day means to her she said “Valentine’s Day is just another day we get to show each other how much we love each other, I just usually get candy on Valentine’s Day!” Pettry said for Valentine’s Day they’ll probably cook dinner at home so they can avoid the crowded restaurants and then invite over two other couples and have a Wii party.

Anna Smith, a junior at Auburn University, said this is the first Valentine’s Day she’s spent with a boyfriend in a long time. She said she’ll probably bake him cookies and do something simple and sweet. Smith says she plans to spend Valentine’s Day in Birmingham with her significant other. She says they’ll probably go to dinner somewhere but nothing to over the top since they haven’t been dating that long. Smith says that when she was single she used to always spend Valentine’s Days with her friends.

Friends will always make your Valentine’s Day better if you aren’t in a relationship. Valentine’s Day isn’t just for people in relationships; everyone that’s single should get out and do something to celebrate the holiday. Most of the singles I spoke with said they were going to spend the day with friends and go see a movie like “He’s Just Not That Into You” or one of the other typical Valentine’s Day movies. A few other singles said they would be going to the bar with friends to try to find themselves a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Being single should not stop anyone from having a great time on Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s is a day for love but everyone loves to be with their friends so celebrate the great friendships you have and send them a valentine. Valentine’s is the day to tell people how you feel about them, so take a chance on love, what’ve you got to lose? Everyone should have a great Valentine’s Day this year, there are plenty of ways to spend it, whether it’s with your boyfriend or girlfriend or just with your best friends.




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Auburn real estate is in a situation like no other city in the state of Alabama. With thousands of students renting each year, buying houses and constantly spending money in the city of Auburn the housing market hasn’t quite been affected like it has been in the rest of the country, until now.

On Tuesday, I walked into the office where my current apartment lease is held. There were a few groups of people in front of me in line so as I waited I listened to the groups of potential roommates discussing their living situation for next year. Each of the four groups that I listened to was discussing rent prices for their future apartments. I watched as they searched through a book listing apartments’ prices. With each page they discussed the prices, how they were getting more expensive by the page and how they weren’t going to be able to pay the same prices they paid this year.

After hearing students discuss their concerns about the market I decided to visit another real estate company to see if they were being affected the same way. According to Alice Henderson of Henderson Realty, housing trends in the market have been slow to hit the South, especially Auburn. People in the North have been dealing with problems in the economy for several months at this point and just lately has the Auburn real estate market taken a hit.

New housing is being built everywhere in Auburn, especially in areas around campus. Not only are new apartments and condos constantly being built, the new university dorms will be finished by fall 2009. With the real estate market down, filling this housing could be difficult especially if the market doesn’t improve.

In many parts of the country people aren’t being able to move due to loss of jobs, rising cost of everyday needs and many more economic hardships. Auburn stands apart from most of the nation because of the students that come in each year looking for a place to live. Along with incoming students, alumni support helps the Auburn real estate market as well. Henderson says alumni support helps the market, she said, “Alumni are always looking to go back to where they had those warm-fuzzy fond memories.”

In data collected by city-data.com, Auburn has grown far beyond the Alabama average. Since 1996 when the data was first collected Auburn has built more buildings and homes than the average city in Alabama. Auburn is distinct from any other city in Alabama because of its growth in the past years. So as economic hardships hit Auburn, expectations are questioned since Auburn constantly has new buyers in the market.

When I asked Henderson if students were cutting back on how much money they were willing to pay for an apartment she said they were marketing now for the current economic state. She also said that she predicts that students budgets will be cut because of their family budgets so overall it would affect all of their spending.

“Rent has gone up in all of the apartments this year,” I heard the realtor say in the first office I was in. Upset the student she was speaking to sulked as he left the office. With the hard times ahead and no end in sight everyone is making sacrifices. Economic troubles have hit home and the Auburn real estate market is trying to make the best of the current hard times. What students will have to decide now is whether living in a nice place is worth the inflated price or if they are going to have to simply cut back elsewhere.




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Looking to lose those holiday pounds before Spring Break? Wanting to stick with that New Years Resolution? Well here are some tips to have you bikini shape by Spring Break.

Getting a healthy diet in order is the first step to shaping your body for the spring break. The supermarket is a wonderful-terrible place. You can lose weight if you buy healthy items, but you can also be sucked into buying super fattening items. These unhealthy items are targeted for college age people, they're easy, quick and convenient. Fast food is another appealing option most college students turn to.The first thing to get you eating right is to correct your shopping habits.

Staying on the outer edges of the supermarket will get you on the right track from the start. On those edges you'll find all the fresh vegetables and fruits you want. Fruits and vegetables are the kinds of foods you can almost eat unlimited amounts of, so don't think of it as a diet, think of it as an unlimited fruit and veggie menu.

The next section you'll find on the outside edges of the supermarket is the meat section. When dieting you'll want to stick to lean meats like chicken, fish or maybe ground turkey.

Dairy is the next section most college students always stop. Cheese is a food most people think makes anything delicious, but the trick is to look for fat free cheese or low fat cheese. A study by the Yale-New Haven Hospital showed that an ounce of cheese gives you 200-300 mg of calcium.

Eggs are an important and healthy option for losing weight. Eggs are a protein powerhouse. They also suppress your appetite. If you eat eggs in the morning, you not only have more energy throughout the day, but you won't be wanting to snack until it's time for lunch.

Another important item is bread. If you are going to buy bread opt for wheat, or whole wheat.Whole wheat pasta is another healthy choice because as college students pasta is an easy option most students know how to prepare.

A very important thing to remember is that not only does your food have calories and fat but your drinks can too. If you can cut back on alcohol and the amount of sugary drinks you drink that will make a noticeable difference in your weight. Instead of these sugary drinks substitute them for water or Crystal Light.

For your Spring Break diet keep track of the unhealthy and the healthy things you eat.By keeping a food diary you will be much more aware of what you eat and how much of it you eat.

Caitlin Boyd, a junior at Auburn University, was asked if she ever cooked, she responded,"does a microwave count?" This seems to be a common response among college students which is prompting a very unhealthy lifestyle.So after figuring out what students were wanting to cook, I took the spring break diet tips and came up with a few simple recipes I hope you will try along with the tips I've already given above.

Cabbage Ramen Noodle Salad

1/2 head cabbage finely chopped
4 green onions chopped
1 package Ramen Noodles crumbled

For the dressing:
2 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp. pepper
flavor packet from noodles

Directions: Mix all the ingredients together except noodles, chill for at least an hour, when ready, mix in noodles, toss and serve.

whole Wheat Pasta Salad

1/2 pound whole wheat pasta spirals
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup red onion diced
1/2 cup chopped spinach leaves
1/2 pound grilled chicken (optional)
1/2 pound sliced sun dried tomatoes (optional)
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic or 1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Directions: Cook pasta according to directions, rinse pasta under cold water, drain and chill in refrigerator. Mix first six ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix the rest of the ingredients for the dressing. Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and toss to coat.





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