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Departments of Communication and Kinesiology promote tobacco free campus with Great American Smokeout event
ARLINGTON, Texas – Lecturer Jennifer Little’s public relations students partnered with clinical associate professor Becky Garner’s public health class to organize the annual Great American Smokeout event Nov. 15 at University Center.
The classes worked on a project promoting a tobacco-free campus while gaining hands-on experience in their respective fields.
The seven-member public relations Tobacco Free Campus account team was comprised of all seniors, six of whom graduated in December 2018.
- Maddison Adkins, 2018 Public Relations
- Claudia Garcia Batres, 2018 Advertising and Public Relations
- Christian Burno, 2018 Public Relations
- TaVodrick Cottonham, 2018 Public Relations
- Gabrielle Romeu, 2018 Public Relations
- Yvette Velazquez, 2018 Public Relations
- Lo Welch, 2019 Advertising and Public Relations
The Great American Smokeout campaign, coined “Smoke This, Not That” by Little’s student PR team, was a campus wide invitation for faculty and students to enjoy complimentary barbecue, free T-shirts, interactive experiences, games and prizes. Garner’s public health students developed educational material, coordinating seven booths where attendees learned about tobacco-related risks, talking to others about quitting or making a personal plan to stop smoking.
The event, part of the American Cancer Society’s nationwide program, provided a service learning opportunity in which students from Little’s PR Campaigns course were tasked with all aspects of planning, promoting and executing a successful job for a real-world client, start to finish. Students were expected to meet client expectations, address unexpected scenarios and find solutions, all while adhering to budget and deadline limitations. Little said these skills were tested when the original T-shirt vendor was unable to deliver on time.
The goal of the group was to increase participation and awareness from previous years when the health services department hosted the unpromoted event solo. Little said the results exceeded expectations with close to 1,000 attendees.
“The buzz on campus was this was the biggest, most attended event next to homecoming activities,” she said. “This was truly a professional-level event put on by seven students.”
Little said the concept for the tobacco free service learning project program developed after meeting Garner while participating in UTA’s Service Learning Faculty Fellows program last spring. They worked over the summer to structure the collaboration that will be highlighted at the UT System level for tobacco-free campus initiatives.
The PR team dedicated more than 337 hours to the preparation and execution of “Smoke This, Not That” and Little said she is proud of the group’s success.
“I watched this team take a lot of initiative, problem solve, collaborate with public health students and work together to pull off an amazing event to educate and engage the UTA campus,” Little said.
For information about the American Cancer Society and the Great American Smokeout program, visit https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/great-american-smokeout.html. Find out how UTA can help with tobacco cessation or learn about all wellness programs available to students.