2008 Woodie Awards
Provocative softball promos torn down
Fliers featured scantily-clad women
By: Rachael Horne
Issue date: 4/21/05 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
Many students are enticed by free food to show up at events, but free food isn't always enough to drum up support for campus events. Sometimes it takes something a little more provocative.
At least that's what sophomore Nick Prosperi thought when he hung up fliers advertising an event sponsored by his club, the Radio and Televison News Directors Association (RTNDA).
RTNDA is a newly organized club made up of broadcast majors. They organized an event to support the Webster University Softball team in their game April 19 as a way to get their name out to the student body. Prosperi was in charge of designing fliers and posting them around campus.
Prosperi said he didn't understand why it was a big deal.
"I wasn't trying to piss people off," Prosperi said. "If you just put up posters that say, 'come eat free food,' then no one is going to come. I thought it was a creative way to let people know."
RTNDA President Brittany Burke said Prosperi did not clear the fliers with the group before posting them.
"We are extremely apologetic to the softball team or anyone else it might have offended," Burke said.
While support is appreciated by the softball team and they welcome any fans that want to show up. Some were offended by the fliers.
Athletic Director Tom Hart was on his way to the fitness center April 14 to teach a class when he noticed a flyer featuring scantily clad women. He realized it was advertising the upcoming softball game.
The particular flyer featured two barely dressed women on a softball field. The headline read "Like action on the softball diamond?"
Another poster featured a picture of a black woman and the headline proclaimed "There's about to be a girlfight!" It went on saying "Come see the girl's softball team beat the skanks from Robert Morris College." It ended with, "bring your appetite and lust for girl's athletics."
"I don't know if they are skanks," said Prosperi said of the Robert Morris team. "I don't even know where the college is. I'm just rooting for the home team."
Hart asked a few softball players if they found the fliers offensive. He said they did. He then went to the front desk to see if the fliers had gone through the appropriate channels to be approved.
Policy for posting fliers in the UC must be approved by someone working at the front desk. Fliers not approved are at risk for being removed.
Hart then asked two members of the softball team to remove the fliers.
"I appreciate that they want to go to the game and support the team," Hart said. "But I feel we could come up with a better avenue of communication."
Not everyone was offended by the fliers. Senior Angie Carr, an advertising and marketing major said it is something we see all the time in the ad world.
"The more the merrier," Carr said. "It seems like the more that show up to the game the better. We're in college. There are a lot of other things out there that are worse."
At least that's what sophomore Nick Prosperi thought when he hung up fliers advertising an event sponsored by his club, the Radio and Televison News Directors Association (RTNDA).
RTNDA is a newly organized club made up of broadcast majors. They organized an event to support the Webster University Softball team in their game April 19 as a way to get their name out to the student body. Prosperi was in charge of designing fliers and posting them around campus.
Prosperi said he didn't understand why it was a big deal.
"I wasn't trying to piss people off," Prosperi said. "If you just put up posters that say, 'come eat free food,' then no one is going to come. I thought it was a creative way to let people know."
RTNDA President Brittany Burke said Prosperi did not clear the fliers with the group before posting them.
"We are extremely apologetic to the softball team or anyone else it might have offended," Burke said.
While support is appreciated by the softball team and they welcome any fans that want to show up. Some were offended by the fliers.
Athletic Director Tom Hart was on his way to the fitness center April 14 to teach a class when he noticed a flyer featuring scantily clad women. He realized it was advertising the upcoming softball game.
The particular flyer featured two barely dressed women on a softball field. The headline read "Like action on the softball diamond?"
Another poster featured a picture of a black woman and the headline proclaimed "There's about to be a girlfight!" It went on saying "Come see the girl's softball team beat the skanks from Robert Morris College." It ended with, "bring your appetite and lust for girl's athletics."
"I don't know if they are skanks," said Prosperi said of the Robert Morris team. "I don't even know where the college is. I'm just rooting for the home team."
Hart asked a few softball players if they found the fliers offensive. He said they did. He then went to the front desk to see if the fliers had gone through the appropriate channels to be approved.
Policy for posting fliers in the UC must be approved by someone working at the front desk. Fliers not approved are at risk for being removed.
Hart then asked two members of the softball team to remove the fliers.
"I appreciate that they want to go to the game and support the team," Hart said. "But I feel we could come up with a better avenue of communication."
Not everyone was offended by the fliers. Senior Angie Carr, an advertising and marketing major said it is something we see all the time in the ad world.
"The more the merrier," Carr said. "It seems like the more that show up to the game the better. We're in college. There are a lot of other things out there that are worse."