to showcase sophisticated, diverse student body
President to receive calendar, Dec. 5
KINGSTON, R.I. – December 1, 2006 – A student group at the University of Rhode Island is producing the antithesis of the racy pinup calendar by showcasing the diversity and involvement of URI students.
The Public Relations Society at URI created the new calendar. The calendars will be available Dec. 4 through Dec. 8 in the Memorial Union from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. daily. A calendar will be presented to URI President Robert L. Carothers on Tuesday, Dec.5 at 9:30 a.m. at his office on the first floor of Green Hall.
This calendar isn’t what most people might expect from a group of young adults. The style of the calendar is less Maxim magazine and more GQ meets Abercrombie & Fitch. The student models are dressed in stylish, casual duds and posed in typical settings showcasing the color and variation of life on the Kingston campus and surrounding community.
Included in the calendar will be students from various fraternities, intramural and varsity athletics teams, the URI tour guides program, the Student Entertainment Committee, the URI 101 mentoring program, as well as other groups and organizations.
Society President Jennifer Hayek, a native of East Greenwich and current resident of Warwick, says the calendar is an innovative way to get students excited about their peers and to appreciate the diversity of the student body. It’s also a fundraising project for the society.
“There is such a mixture of students on the campus, and there are more than 100 student organizations,” Hayek said. “Our organization thought that a calendar would be a great way to connect students and to portray different aspects of student life.”
Students who were chosen for the calendar went through an interview process where they were assessed based on their involvement on and off campus, personality and, of course, their relationship with the camera.
Josh Ratner, a senior education and history major saw an article in the student paper, The Good 5 Cent Cigar, for the casting call. He auditioned and was chosen for the calendar. Ratner is also the president of the Interfraternity Council.
“I am honored to be in the calendar,” Ratner said, “I think it is something that people have always thought of doing, and I am glad that someone is finally making it happen. The premise is good because it does have a sense of sexiness to it, but the other part of it is that it shows off the leadership of the university.”
Other students, who might be camera-shy, also had the opportunity to get involved with the calendar through their writing. The society asked students “what does URI mean to you?” The top 12 responses were chosen for inclusion in the calendar. In addition, Joe Menassa, a business major from Middletown, R.I., took all the calendar’s photographs.
Other members of the campus community have also gotten involved through the various components of the calendar. Fashion merchandising students styled and dressed the student models.
The society is new to the URI community and brings together students with various majors interested in public relations and provides opportunities for professional development and experience in the field. Members meet Tuesday nights at 7 in Room 318 of the Memorial Union.
For more information about the calendar or the society, contact Jennifer Hayek, 401-374-2361 or jlhayek@gmail.com. For more information on what PRSSA is doing nationally, visit www.prssa.org.
Pictured above
URI students step out in new calendar: URI students are debuting a calendar this December that showcases the diversity of the student body. Shown in the above photo from the calendar shoots are Marissa Fisher, a freshman from Merrick, N.Y., and Joel Littlefield, a senior from Exeter, R.I. This shot was taken along the walkway at the Saugatucket River in Wakefield. (Joe Menassa photo courtesy of the Public Relations Society at URI. Menassa is a Middletown resident)