By Cari Griggs, Senior Staff Writer
Officials are brainstorming new ways to recruit students to the university.
Eduardo Prieto, vice president of enrollment services and dean of admissions, said officials are in the preliminary stages of planning to use flash mobs to attract new students to OCU.
Flash mobs are large gatherings of people in a predetermined site to do what seems like a spontaneous activity, though often they are rehearsed, Prieto said.
The tactic helps aid recruitment, said Michelle Lockhart, senior director of admissions.
“The key is to act like there is no disconnect between what you were doing before and then go back to what you were doing,” she said.
The participants would be student leaders, Greek members and members of other student groups that would represent the overall campus community, Prieto said.
“We are looking for other ways to get our name out there,” he said. “This would be cool and have that wow factor.”
The mob could happen during a campus visit day for prospective students. Prieto said they would then film it and post it to Facebook or YouTube.
“We would hope it could go viral,” he said. “Then students would say, ‘Hey, that’s a fun campus.’”
Lockhart said this new approach is appropriate because the way students select universities is shifting.
“So many prospects are shopping more secretly,” she said. “They are looking at us online before we have any indicator of their interest.”
Joel Cranmer, finance junior, said this would fit with the university’s culture.
“It’s fitting for all the dance and drama we have here,” he said. “It reminds me of Glee.”
Molly Allard, dance performance junior, said she also likes the idea.
“You walk around campus and people are singing as loud as they can and dancing anyways,” she said. “Why not show people that is what we love to do?”
This article initially appeared in the March 30 issue of The Campus newspaper.
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