12/12 class work

Billie Sue Atkinson's 12/12 class assignment

Date: December 11, 2000

To: Jesse Rosenblum

From: Billie Sue Atkinson

Re: Junior Golf Tournament

Due to the college-wide debate surrounding the Junior Golf Tournament, the College needs to make a statement about where it stands on corporate sponsorship. Because no statement of this sort exists, supporters and opponents of the program are engaged in a standoff about Nike’s proposed sponsorship of the event.

Guidelines must be set so that the students, faculty, and surrounding community know exactly where the College stands on these issues. Without such a statement, the debate could go on continuously, or worsen.

The following are recommendations that the College should take into consideration when composing this much needed statement:

The College must make a stand on the issue of all corporate sponsors. The College community needs to know whether seeking such support is acceptable

Characteristics that a sponsor should have should be clearly listed. The College should maintain that all corporate sponsors comply with our mission statement. Any corporate sponsor that is accepted at the College is going to influence the College’s image. Sponsors should only be accepted if they will enhance the image of the College.

A board needs to be made of people from various organizations, including members of Amnesty International who are clearly interested in this issue. All relevant organizations need to be represented. The board also should include a faculty voice.

Before accepting a corporate sponsor, that organization/company should come before a board for questioning and investigation. The partnership that the College would create with the sponsor needs to be established early and guidelines, expectation, and contracts should be discussed prior to acceptance.

When seeking corporate sponsorship, at least three organizations likely to sponsor the event should be listed. The board should then review and interview all likely sponsors.

The College’s role in the partnership should be clearly defined. Issues such as whether the corporate sponsor plans on using the College for publicity should be investigated.

To make the current decision on Nike’s co-sponsorship of the Junior Golf Tournament an official statement should be made. Opportunities for the College, like the current, are foreseeable. To maintain order here on campus, the College community at large needs to know where TCNJ stands on corporate sponsorship. Please take into consideration the recommendations that I have made.