[Scroll down for the explanatory article 'Flyer me to the moon']
Campus Fliers Mike Vallebuona
Club organizers and party promoters flood the bulletin boards - and, at times, the stairwells - with their fliers and quarter sheets, often with reckless disregard for graphic design and aesthetics. In an effort to dispel this proliferation of illegible fonts and hackneyed clipart on campus advertisements, The Eagle critiques the recent fliering campaigns of four student organizations.
"Coed Naked Service" Alpha Phi Omega
APO takes a minimalist but sadly desperate route, splashing "naked"
in an oppressive, intolerably large bubble font across its flier. Closer inspection reveals the word preceded by "coed" and succeeded by "service" - in itty-bitty letters, of course. Hmm ... coed naked service? Intriguing. Who knows what APO means by "service," but it probably doesn't involve kneepads.
The good: There are two kinds of people in this world - the ones who find themselves drawn to fliers with dirty words in big letters, and complete liars. With their latest ad campaign, APO wisely exploits our shared interest in sex rather than our shared disinterest in community service. Smart move, P.R. people of APO. For a split moment, the flier almost makes you want to visit sick children at Sibley ... while naked.
The bad: By obtusely settling for the lowest common denominator - in this particular instance, the troubling image of disrobed APO members - the flier implies an unflattering despondency of APO's recruitment committee. Is the fraternity so desperate for members that it must cater to the kind of half-brained perverts who become aroused during an anatomy lecture? Apparently so. Unless the members of APO do community service in bikinis and heels, leave sex appeal to campus organizations that can follow through with the hefty promise of nudity.
"Hangover" AU Methodists
A flier from the AU Methodists poses an interesting if not accusatory question: "Is your hangover preventing you from getting to church on Sunday mornings?" Why, yes, it is! That, and a habit of waking up in various back alleys in southeast D.C., miles from Kay Spiritual Life Center. For the God-fearing alcoholic, the AU Methodists advertise a Sunday evening service, along with a "healing service" on Thursdays. Amen!
The good: The font is legible, the text is without spelling or grammatical error, and the message is to-the-point. For the most part, the AU Methodists have covered all the bases of proper fliering technique. They also get bonus points for the tastefully colored parchment - a muted variation of canary yellow.
The bad: With its bizarre dichotomy of binge drinking and Christian worship, the flier is a pointlessly depraved exercise in teen-targeted advertising. Why not further push religion with the distribution of holy wine as a selling point, or by offering low-carb unleavened bread for Atkins devotees? In a world where almost nothing is sacred, the AU Methodists should promote their evening services - a very convenient luxury that will be appreciated by campus worshipers - without kitsch, innuendo or low-brow humor.
"Free Food" College Republicans
"There will be free food," the flier reads. Mmm, free food. Below this bold declaration rests a finely printed caveat: The event is being hosted by the College Republicans. But, still, free food is free food - even if it means you'll have to spend a considerable amount of time with the College Republicans to get it.
The good: Like anything designed by Republicans, the flier makes a lofty promise with universal appeal, but provides few details as to its actual application. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since many advertisements err in their overzealous offering of trivial information. With their "Just the facts, ma'am!" attitude, the College Republicans have created a flier that is compelling but not hysterical, humorous but not base.
The bad: Free food is nice. But free strippers are better.
"Want to sing with this guy?" On A Sensual Note
Rhetorical questions don't exactly probe new depths of marketing strategy, but this doesn't stop On A Sensual Note's flier from asking: "Want to sing with this guy?" - a cackling a cappella singer clutching his crotch, to be exact. Tempting offer, really. All it takes, apparently, is an audition, the times and dates of which are listed at the flier's bottom.
The good: The fun, crazy font implies a certain reckless, freewheeling vibe among these a cappella guys. This ain't your mama's bowtie-wearing barbershop quartet. The flier's got all the info you need to plan a proper audition and, thankfully, bears an important stipulation: No dancing.
The bad: On A Sensual Note misses the perfect opportunity to stage a mock-"American University Idol" competition. Maybe next year, guys.
Flier me to the moon By Megan Slack
"Watch your building charges pile up."
If the threat isn't attention-grabbing enough, the colorful quarter sheet fliers that fill the glassed-in bulletin board on the first floor of Anderson Hall certainly will be.
The board, prepared by the residence hall staff, highlights the rules about distributing fliers, as well as regulations for hanging posters on public bulletin boards around campus. It also warns students about the costly penalties for disregarding the rules.
Student Activities is responsible for creating the University's posting policy, which outlines guidelines for students wishing to post items on campus.
According to the policy, "Items are to be posted only on bulletin boards and affixed with tacks or staples. Only one poster regarding any event is allowed per bulletin board. No materials may be posted on trees; the exteriors of buildings; painted, wallpapered or glass surfaces, including glass doors; inside elevators, stairwells bathrooms and public walls." "Anything posted on campus must advertise an AU-related event, nothing else is allowed," Rita Wilson, of Student Activities, said. "There should be no promotion of alcohol or tobacco products."
Freshman Jonathan Dawood feels the policy is too restrictive. If groups want to advertise an event that isn't AU-sponsored, but still directly affects students, their posters will not be approved or displayed.
"When I was trying to get people interested in volunteering for the John Kerry campaign, I put up a few fliers around Letts," Dawood said. "One of the RAs tore them all down, because they weren't approved."
University departments are permitted to post advertisements without prior approval, but all other groups promoting AU events are required to have their posters approved, stamped by either Student Activities, the Office of Greek Life or Housing and Dining Programs, depending on the type of group.
Housing and Dining Programs has the responsibility of approving any residence hall group's posters.
"When posters come in for approval, I always tell people no drugs or alcohol, no swearing and no naked people," said Julie Weber, executive director of Housing and Dining Programs. "We don't want to censor anyone, but we do want to maintain some measure of good taste." The housing office is also responsible for dealing with illegal "fliering," the littering that occurs in hallways and dorms when an individual drops handfuls of quarter sheets advertising events at local bars and clubs. "We know that clubs or bars will pay people a flat amount to get rid of a certain number of fliers to promote their event, so students will drop hundreds of fliers from the top of the stairs in Anderson and it creates a huge mess," Weber said. "This is absolutely against University policies, and we try to clean it up as soon as possible. If we can hold an individual or group responsible, we will charge them for the cleanup. If not, we charge the entire building."
In accordance with the housing agreements all residents signed upon moving in, residents are responsible for damages to common areas, like hallways and stairwells. Damages include littering, according to Dale Booth, resident director of Anderson Hall. "There is no set clean-up charge for picking up fliers, but residents are charged for the amount of time the cleaning staff spends on fliers when they are supposed to be doing something else," Booth said.
Some students seem oblivious to the quarter sheets, stepping over them on their way to their rooms. Sophomore Ashley Monteil doesn't see a problem with them.
"They don't cost that much to clean up and it gives people ideas of something to do," Monteil said. "I don't think they are that much of a nuisance but Aramark shouldn't have to clean up after us all them time. The people who drop them should have to pick them up."
As long as fliers keep dropping, residents' housing charges will continue to add up, and the pile will only grow larger, according to Booth.
