Laughter fills the night at Underground

“Karaoke people are nuts. Yeah, they’re just a step above the Thursday night comedy crowd.” These words came from the joke-spewing mouth of comedian Carolyn Busa and were followed with laughter and applause from an appreciative audience.

Those in attendance at Temple’s Public Relations Student Society of America’s comedy show, “It’s Always Funny in Philadelphia,” spent an evening in the Underground in the Student Center listening to a variety of jokes. From waking up in bed next to Cookie Monster to the election, crime on campus and comparing an untrained dog to a college roommate, the show covered just about everything.

PRowl, PRSSA’s sister organization, helped coordinate the comedy night.

“We heard it’s comedy, and we expect to laugh,” said Kia Dunlap, a freshman university studies major. “We laugh at everything, and I have a friend in PRSSA, so I just came out to support.”

Dunlap and others enjoyed pizza, drinks and more, as local comedians filled the night with laughter, slight giggles and table-slapping humor.

The 18-year-old Joe Dougherty, a senior in high school, was the master of ceremonies at the event.

“So, anybody having sex? What’s that like?” Dougherty said at the beginning of the show.

Dougherty, who attends Roman Catholic High School, said he’d been doing comedy for about two years.

“I just looked the show up on my own. It was a great time, and I’d love to come back, if I get invited back,” he laughingly added.

The light-hearted event was one of many for the professional student organizations PRSSA and PRowl.

“We have bake sales, like any organization,” said Mary Bienkowski, a junior public relations major and director of fundraising for PRSSA. “We also had a Philadelphia Eagles event, and we’re having an open mic on Dec. 4 called ‘Oral in the Underground.’”

“For a student-run event, I think it’s great,” PRSSA President Lindsay Bues said.

“It’s good because it’s so hands-on,” said Bues, a senior public relations major. “We deal with all aspects of advertising, sending out information and getting exposure for the event.”

Exposure is a broad statement. The organizations made fliers and verbally spread the word before resorting to their last marketing public relations “stunt,” which included a man dressed entirely in green spandex passing out fliers, days before the event.

Bues said while the comedy night was the third installment of the comedy series, it started last year with Temple student and comedian Pat House, who performed Thursday night.

“I just reached out and got them to come,” said House, a senior communications major. “I’ve been doing comedy for about five years now, and these events are always a blast.”

“I’m graduating soon,” said House, as he stood with microphone in hand at the front of the room. After announcing his upcoming graduation, House cut the audience’s applause short, by saying “I’m 24 guys, it’s about time.”

“I’m truly excited about the show,” said junior Jaime Scofield, firm director of PRowl. “It’s great to co-host events like this with PRSSA.”

Marketing and public relations major Scofield said PRowl is designed to give members experience of dealing with real clients, taking what they learn in classroom and applying it elsewhere.

Scofield said PRowl has about 15 members, all of whom are a part of PRSSA, which has about 45 members.

“It’s always fun to see how these events go and to plan them,” said Janaye Guinn, a senior public relations major and member of PRSSA.

“I’m here to support [Guinn], but I love seeing the comedians, too,” said Jason Williams, a senior marketing major.

Those in attendance received an evening’s worth of laughs from start to finish.

Gabriel Katz can be reached at gabriel.katz@temple.edu.

Students turning classrooms into companies

Mary Hagenbach

The Temple News

Two student-run companies allow advertising and public relations students to gain first-hand experience and a hand up on the competitive market.

The Creative Services Workshop emerged as Temple’s first student-run advertising agency in the mid-1980s. After a short hiatus, advertising professor James Marra and some ambitious students revamped the agency and adopted the name Diamond Edge Communications in 2003.

“There are only six to seven student-run ad agencies in the country, which makes the program very unique,” Marra said.

In contrast to a typical classroom setting, “the DEC program allows students to work with real people, real clients, real money and the real world,” Marra said.

Some of those “real clients” have included SEPTA, Empyreal Chocolates and the U.S. Department of State.

“[Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice actually reviewed some of DEC’s work,” Marra said.

The agency is presently working with Aldelphia restaurant and bar in Deptford, N.J. and High Two Music Recordings in Philadelphia.

Senior advertising major Dan Yeager is the executive copy director for DEC. It took Yeager until the spring of his junior year to choose advertising as his career path, but he said he’s glad he did.

“I really like the creative element of advertising, and DEC offers the convenience of an internship right on campus,” Yeager said.

“By no means is this a cop out for an internship,” said DEC’s public relations director and senior advertising major Shelly Lavar. “Even though it’s on campus, not only are you representing yourself, but you’re representing Temple and the client.”

Both Yeager and Lavar said DEC has given them the confidence they need to enter the work force.

Temple alumna and former DEC member Alison Gregory has already experienced the benefits of the DEC program.

“At interviews for internships and jobs, employers are always interested in DEC because it’s different from a classic internship,” Gregory said. “I really think that’s the one thing that gave me an edge over other applicants.”

She now works at Harmelin Media as a media planner and buyer. The Philadelphia-based company is responsible for the ‘T’ Means More campaign.

The success of DEC is something the new student-run public relations firm PRowl already seems to be experiencing.

Senior public relations major Natalie Prazenica said she started the firm at the beginning of the semester in an effort to give public relations students a feel for the real world.

Eighteen staff members worked with Prazenica, the firm director, to create a blog and get the firm up and running. They gained clientele almost immediately.

“We developed and executed two plans in two to four weeks as opposed to a class like senior capstone, where it takes the entire semester to create a plan and there is no execution,” Prazenica said.

PRowl’s two main clients include Dynasty, Temple’s modeling troupe, and the Rebecca Davis Dance Company.

“We work to find out how to reach people through research and surveys, and then do our best to reach them,” Prazenica said. “I love seeing the differences between audience and client’s perceptions of what people want.”

And the clients are typically pleased with PRowl’s performance.

“Our upcoming ballet, Darfur, is an important issue for college students,” client Rebecca Davis said. “PRowl showed the most interest and had the best follow-through when we were looking for PR.”

Jaime Scofield is PRowl’s assistant firm director and is apprenticing to take over the firm next year.

“I learn more from [Prazenica] than I do in classes,” the marketing and public relations major said.

PRowl is a non-profit organization, and although they have been offered compensation for their work, Prazenica said, “the most important thing is the learning aspect.”

Mary Hagenbach can be reached at mary.hagenbach@temple.edu.