Student Union
- By Pete Musto
Would You Go To This College If You Saw It On Buzzfeed?
In 2016, 86 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States used social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others, according to the Pew Research Center.
Stephen Loguidice, the vice president of brand development for Buzzfeed, says his company was one of the first to respond to changes in how young people react to information and advertising.
Loguidice explained that new, online media takes a different approach to advertising to the youth market.
“With social, now [companies] have to think about, ‘How do I say what they want to hear and not necessarily what I want to say?’
"And at the end of the day, now [companies are] competing with friends and family and co-workers and trusted news sources and all these other things.”
Studies show that younger people rely on the opinions and shares of their friends and family on social media more than traditional approaches. A recent study showed that youths say that nearly half of news on social is fake.
Buzzfeed studies its most popular content and creates advertising in the same style for clients like universities. For example, the online music service Spotify paid Buzzfeed for a branded marketing campaign in 2014. Buzzfeed created a story for them with the headline “15 Of The Best Bands To Come From College Campuses.”
Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was one of the first universities to partner with Buzzfeed in 2015. The website created an advertising campaign for the university that received almost 800,000 views online.
Shortly after, schools like Indiana University and the University of Wyoming began working with Buzzfeed. Chad Baldwin, vice president of communications at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, said his school paid Buzzfeed $100,000 in 2016 for two campaigns.
He admits this can be costly and says the school still send brochures and information through the mail. But UW is very happy with the Buzzfeed material, which has been viewed over 100,000 times, he says.
“There are a lot of the traditional things we still use,” Baldwin said. But “the social media element is huge and anyone who resists engaging in those [ways] is probably going to get left behind.”
Jay Baer is the creator of Convince & Convert, a marketing company that deals mostly with social media. (He is also a parent of a high school student choosing a college.) Baer says many media companies create this type of branded advertising, including large newspapers like the New York Times, for clients.
Universities should have considered this method of advertising much sooner, he says.
Jennifer Cronin is a professor of marketing and social media in the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. She cautions schools to be careful about losing the public's trust if the online material is considered offensive or untrustworthy.
“Colleges are supposed to be very elite and [centered] on academics, Cronin said. “And so, when you use these other [methods], if you do it poorly then there is the chance that you could harm your reputation.”
What do you think is the best way for universities to share their message with the current generation of young people? Should colleges use marketing like Buzzfeed?
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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STEM, business top subjects for international students
The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.
STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Safety and visa difficulties among misconceptions about US colleges
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Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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British student talks about her culture shock in Ohio
A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.
Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.
Read the full story here. (December 2024)
