Virginia Commonwealth University
Fall 2010. 2nd half of the semester.
220 students. 21 groups. 6 weeks.
The assignment: Organize a media-oriented service project.
Here’s what the students in MASC 101-002 accomplished.
Created a Facebook groupDistributed fliers around campusPut donation boxes around cityCollected books & other items
Created a Tumblr site to protest hyper-consumerism
Distributed posters & fliers Boycotted malls day after Thanksgiving Advocated simple lifestyle, gift-giving
Called attention to press releasesmasquerading as news
Protested hidden commercialsin TV newscasts
Wrote letters to Federal Communications Commission
And to FOX and CBS
Created sites on Facebook & Tumblrto support the local music scene
Promoted local bands & venues Music clips, interviews & event details
Also spread the wordwith fliers & posters
Designed tip sheets on how to:Create a free email accountUse Facebook, CraigslistLook for jobs online; & more
Gave packets of tip sheets to community centers & libraries
Put all tip sheets online
Adnan was imprisoned in Azerbaijan for blogging
Group 6 publicized his causewith Facebook, YouTube, fliers
Students also wrote letters to U.S. & Azerbaijan embassies
In November, Adnan was freed!
Organized a book drive, with collection boxes around campus
Promoted event with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, posters & fliers
Collected hundreds of books
Dawit Isaac: in prison for 10 yearsThis group publicized his caseStudents wrote to gov’t. officialsAnd talked to children
in Richmond-area schools
Elementary and middle-school children joined in writing letters to Dawit Isaac & Eritrea’s president.
The ‘Don’t Be A B.I.T.C.H.’ ProjectBully In The Cyber Highway Used Facebook, Tumblr,
WordPress, YouTube, fliersSpoke out vs. bullyingSupport for LGBT students
Created a Facebook page as a guideand promotional tool for indie bookstores
Visited stores & interviewed owners Showed how indie bookstores are
vital to a community – and how they’re under pressure from chains & Internet
Researched the gap between peoplewho have access to technology and people who don’t
Wrote a letter to the Richmond mayor urging him to address the issue
Urged student to cut back on technology‘Talk instead of text’Used fliers
Publicized case of Mikhail Beketov,beaten into coma for exposing corruption
Used Facebook & TumblrPut up posters on campus‘We’re not free without free
speech and a free press’
Comcast, Verizon, other ISPs wantpower to limit some Internet traffic
Students sounded alarm aboutcorporate control of the Net
They wrote letters to Congress & FCC Promoted Facebook campaign
Visited Plan 9, other local storesInterviewed managers & shoppersExplained how stores help communityUsed Facebook to spread the word
Gathered info & data on link betweenvideo-game violence and real violence
Published research on Tumblr Wrote letters to video game makers,
urging them to be more responsible
The media contribute to eating disorders & low self-esteem among girls & women
This group highlighted the problemwith a website and fliers
Students wrote letters tomagazines that use anorexicmodels & sexist images
Analyzed media consolidation in RVA Posted findings on Tumblr, Facebook Created posters, too Showed how a handful of companies
own most of the local media Even the alt-weekly (Style Weekly) is
published by a big corporation
Cigarettes in films: product placement Kids imitate actors who smoke This group used Facebook
to publicize the problem & solutions Discussed issue on WVCW Radio Wrote letters to newspapers, groups
Students volunteered to help feed homeless people in Richmond
They served meals & distributed canned food & clothing
One student wrote: ‘This single experience severely altered my perception of not only the homeless
but life in general.’
Brainstormed TV shows, movies & other media that entertain & educate
Quality content exists – you must look! Gave slide show with many examples:
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