Members of the Public Relations Student Society of America’s Bateman Case Study Competition team have partnered with Murray Middle School to implement a student-designed anti-bullying campaign.
The Bateman Case Study Competition is PRSSA’s annual public relations competition among university chapters. It challenges students to plan, create and implement a full public relations campaign based on a chosen topic. The competition planning stage begins officially in November but implementation of the campaign is only allowed in February.
The completion of this project will be the first from Murray State in nearly five years.
The team members are Allyson Putman, senior from Clay, Ky., Brandon Orr, senior from Murray, Gretchen Green, senior from Herndon, Ky., Erin Behbehani, senior from Paducah, Ky., Katelyn Henson, senior from Benton, Ky. and Zenena Mougel, sophomore from Belize City, Belize.
Putman, PRSSA president and team leader, said a campaign on this large of a scale can be difficult.
“(The campaign) been very trying at times but overall it has been very rewarding and enlightening,” Putman said.
The team is currently working on one of the larger tactics it has planned, a multi-grade assembly.
On Monday, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students will attend an anti-bullying assembly in the Murray Middle School auditorium at 8 and 9 a.m. The program itinerary outlines student testimonies, prizes and their own twist of the Harlem Shake YouTube sensation.
Speakers will share their own stories with the students, while empowering and educating students on how to stand up against or report bullying.
In preparation for the assembly, the Murray State students set up a bully-free pledge booth motivating the students to think about the issue. Middle school students had the chance to sign bully-free pledges during their lunch period over the past week and more than 300 students were eager to sign the pledge.
The assembly is the highlight the campaign, which was created by the Bateman Case Study Competition team. The slogan of the campaign, “No Bullies, Just Heroes!” was designed to encourage students to be like the superheroes – not the villains.