Dean's List

Last fall, Trinity University was featured on the local broadcast news three times because of stories related to student conduct: a party where several students were issued Minor in Possession tickets, drug arrests, and vandalism in Thomas Hall.

It is both unsettling and flattering to know that one local news channel has determined that the Trinitonian on-line is an excellent news source. If the Trinitonian decides that Thomas Hall vandalism is worthy of a story, then it is obviously good enough for the Trouble Shooters.

The Thomas elevator made the news? When pressed about it being a slow news day, the broadcast reporter told a grumpy campus administrator that when it happens at Trinity it is news. Trinity University has a certain reputation. When the campus doesn’t live up to that reputation then people want to know.

Fair is fair. When the University wants others to know that we have been named tops in the West – again – we do what we can to get positive coverage.

Why wouldn’t a person, a business, or even a University want to manage their reputation? Ultimately, the good name of the University means prestige, greater value for degree-holders, an ability to recruit a strong class, and a larger endowment to staff at higher levels, recruit more aggressively, and start the cycle anew. That’s good for all of us.

The University doesn’t want bad publicity for the same reason that families keep information private and sports teams deal with matters internally: no one wants to air their dirty laundry.

Reputation management, however, shouldn’t be mistaken for hiding the truth, though we are often accused of attempting that. If we were truly good managers of the media, masterfully controlling information, and trying to sweep things under the rug, then we have done a really crummy job. In addition to this year’s stories, we have led the news in the past for a student allegedly having child pornography on his computer, for changing tennis to a non-scholarship sport, for enforcing a balcony policy related to flags during Desert Storm, and for the demise of a prominent student athlete.

When the media isn’t checking the website, our students, beyond our control, have called them with news tips. Reporters come to campus looking for quotes, and with an uncanny knack for finding the least-informed, ax-grinding student, they gather their sound bites for 10 p.m.

The University doesn’t wish to hide the truth about Trinity. The big truth is that we have a tremendous, bright, warm, clever student body that does wonderful things on campus, in the community, and in the world. That story doesn’t interest broadcasters anymore than winning a national championship in women’s basketball. It’s sexier to lead the news with stories that show our students are imperfect.

Everyone on campus should care about protecting and nurturing our reputation in the community. That’s different than manipulating the message. How we act and what we do shouldn’t be guided by staying off the news. Knowing others are watching though, should keep us tuned in. Apparently, it’s news.