Ad Club, PRSSA combine

Adviser hopes unification, reduced dues will spur interest

Published 10/29/98

Journalism and Mass Communication assistant professor Bob O'Gara is hoping that two clubs aren't better than one.

With the start of a new school year coupled with the loss of a popular advertising professor, O'Gara has decided to combine the Ad Club and the Public Relations Student Society of America. He is an adviser of both.

Although each club will remain separate in certain areas, it will generally meet together, and members of one group will be able to attend functions and trips sponsored by the other.

At the first meeting of the two clubs on Oct. 22, O'Gara explained the alliance between the two clubs to a group of 14 students and faculty members.

Primarily known for his public relations experience, O'Gara said both areas will be covered equally. "We'll try to combine meetings," he said, noting that the first speaker tentatively planned is from Ketchum Public Relations, Pittsburgh's largest public relations agency.

Organized meetings aren't scheduled but should be held roughly every two to three weeks, O'Gara said.

In order to entice students to join the Ad Club or PRSSA, O'Gara said that the first 10 students who register with either club will be able to get membership into both professional organizations for a fee of $20 to $30. Regular dues for both clubs can cost as much as $56.

"Our numbers have been down," O'Gara said, noting similar problems with other clubs throughout Point Park College, including student government.

"There are a lot of similarities between PRSSA and the Ad Club," O'Gara said. "Students are the same, the difference is professional."

Although it is unknown how many people have signed up for either club (registration hasn't occurred yet), O'Gara said interest seems to be about equal for both organizations.

After asking the students at the meeting what field they are more interested in, public relations or advertising, six said they were interested in advertising and five said public relations.

At the meeting, Damien Thomas, a journalism and communications major, said marketing the two clubs to all majors throughout the college would be a good way to recruit new members.

"People need advertising and public relations in anything they do," Thomas said, noting that the added knowledge gained by joining a club can be helpful for any major. Thomas gave two examples of students who would benefit from joining either club. One groups was dance majors, who will need publicists, and the other example was business majors, who will need knowledge in advertising for their business.

Thomas also stressed the importance of joining clubs and activities while in college."If you get the A's and forsake everything else, you're going to have a tough time out there," he said.

Although students who join both clubs will be involved in activities from both clubs, there will be an area exclusive to advertising-oriented students, which is an advertising competition class that will be available to students in the spring semester.

The three-credit class will be available only to those who enroll due to the fact it is a national competition. O'Gara said he needs to have about 10 people sign up in order to go ahead with the class.

After registering, which requires a student to have completed an introductory advertising class, O'Gara said he will interview each applicant and then decide if they will be admitted.

The reason for an additional step in completing the class, O'Gara said, isn't necessarily to see whether a student has the needed mechanical skills but rather this step is used to gauge his or here personality.

Working together with other people is an important factor in this exercise, and having a good team chemistry is vital for the group's success, he said.

After the screening process, students will break up into teams and work on all aspects of an advertising campaign. Activities include research and making a presentation. This year's advertising product is Toyota vehicles. Previous subjects included Pizza Hut and Saturn cars.

O'Gara is the adviser of the Ad Club because of the departure of former Point Park professor Kathleen Donnelly. Donnelly, who left in December of 1997 for a teaching job at Florida International University in North Miami, was the former adviser of the Ad Club.

The reason O'Gara is advising both clubs is because there is not enough journalism students enrolled to justify hiring another professor, according to Dr. Steven Koski, journalism and mass communication chair.

Although he isn't sure when another advertising professor could be hired, he said that due to the popularity of several journalism programs, such as the Saturday Fast program in applied corporate communications, he hopes one will be hired sometime soon.

"We need somebody desperately," Koski said.

O'Gara asks anyone interested in joining either club to call his office at 392-3413.

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