MLK Day, and the Potential in Allen Hall

David R.

January 12, 2010 - 10:07 PM

Even during week two, everyone still seems to have the blues about being back in classes. One of the advantages of the winter term is that after only two weeks of classes, the students are given a three day weekend to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Everyone knows how hard it is to get out of bed on Monday mornings. It will put a nice spin on the week to have that extra day of relaxation.

Many students decide to hang out and relax in Eugene, while some others depart to various destinations throughout the northwest. Some of my friends are heading to Vancouver, B.C., while others are heading to the Sun River Resort in Bend. My roommates and I decided to take a different route. On Saturday morning we will be departing Eugene to head to Manzanita, a coastal city on the rocky coast of Oregon. My roommate's parents own a beach house there, and they were generous enough to let us use it for the weekend. I have been here one time before during a spring break, and it was a blast. I am entirely land-locked in Colorado, so it is always a nice privilege to make it out to the ocean. The town itself is rather small, and it is full of authentic stores that can't be found anywhere else. Even though the water during this time of the year is freezing, its always nice to be able to walk along the water, and hear the sounds, and smell the scents that can only be found near the ocean. One of the nightly highlights of this trip is the bonfire we create on the shore. Hearing the thundering waves crash against the shore at dusk is truly memorable. The life in Eugene is always a great time, but it is always fun to partake in a scenic getaway away from campus.

When I returned to school this term, one of the first things I did was interview to become a part of Allen Hall Public Relations, a student-run firm from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication. Fortunately, I was accepted to this position shortly thereafter, and I attended my first meeting tonight. We went over all of the standard guidelines, and we were shortly placed into our clients groups, with which we will be working all term. My client group is Habitat for Humanity, and they have asked us to create greater community awareness about their ReStore. I am very excited to finally be working with real life public relations situations. One great thing about the University of Oregon's SOJC is that there are all kinds of different organizations for students to get involved in in which they can gain exposure to real world journalism. In addition to Allen Hall Public Relations, which is renowned around the northwest, advertising students can join the Allen Hall Advertising group, which is similar, but for advertising. The journalism school at Oregon puts its students in a great position to succeed, and they do.