Media Studies professor, BJ Reed, has long been known for coursework that places her public relations students in situations that resemble a potential situation they could experience after graduation. As part of her Crisis Planning & Communication course, Reed presents the class members with a hypothetical crisis to be addressed, culminating in a press conference complete with police, university officials, community members and pesky reporters.
The crisis premeditate for this semester is a zombie apocalypse.
“The idea came to me in a Thursday morning class,” Reed said. “I looked out at my students, and they all looked like the Walking Dead – something to do with Ladies’ Night at Schoolgirlz, I think.”
Students in this semester’s class couldn’t be more excited.
“Finally, something I can sink my teeth into,” said Bridget Knowere, a senior from Anchorage. “This is going on the top of my résumé.”
Knowere will be playing the role of the university public information officer, who is in charge of the facilitating the press conference.
Reed usually prepares a bit of a plot twist that doesn’t get leaked until the time of the press conference. She only smiled mysteriously when asked about the presence of zombies in the exercise.
“This is making my brain hurt,” complained Amy Eisen, who will play the role of the university crisis coordinator. “It’s just like when the textbook talks about dealing with internal publics. I don’t know who I can trust or who I should kill.”
Reed noted that all deaths at the news conference “will most likely be simulated.”