To say that the past three days have been a blur would be an understatement. As many of you know, my sorority sister Lauren Burk was killed on Tuesday night. Since then, we have heard about tragedies in North Carolina, an Israel massacre, and a suicide in an Alabama high school. Despite learning about these horrific acts and grieving over my fallen sister, I have been more than amazed at the hearts and generosity of the Auburn community and Greek life organizations. From a public relations standpoint, I have noted all of their generous acts and how grateful my sisters and I are for their kindness and support.
Greek life frequently gets a lot of negative publicity and very rarely do you ever hear about the many wonderful things a Greek community can offer: friendship, sisterhood, fun, opportunities to participate in philanthropic events, and more than anything…support. My sisters and I have been through a roller coaster of emotions. When my roommates and I found out the news we immediately flocked together and our feet then seemed to lead us to our chapter room where we were able to be with the only other people that knew exactly what we were going through…our sisters. For those of us that didn’t know Lauren very well the only thing we knew to do was comfort our younger sisters that were close to her. The room was full of shoulders to cry on and arms to hold each other close. Support.
However, support has not only come from the sisters that share my same name this week, but also support from the entire Greek community. Our chapter room looks like a flower shop and smells wonderful. Almost every sorority or fraternity (social and honor groups) has done something to reach out to us. The sisters of Sigma Kappa sent us a tub of cokes and waters and tins of chips and candy. The Interfraternity Council has gathered all of their men and have signed up in shifts to monitor our C-Zone parking lot from 7 PM to 3 AM from now until we leave for spring break. Talk about some great PR!
Chic-Fil-A has once again amazed me with their community outreach. On Thursday afternoon they dropped off two trays of brownies and a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a very sweet note. This was not anything that they were “obligated” to do. They saw an opportunity to reach out to a group in the Auburn community and they took advantage of it, which left quite the impression on my sisters and I.
I talk a lot about Facebook in my blog and for the first time I am writing about it that has impressed me. 90% of the people from Auburn on my friends list have “Praying for the Burk family and the sisters of DG” or some form of that phrase for their Facebook status. I have received wall posts from people who I have not talked to in years telling me they are thinking of my sisters and I. So many people have also changed their profile pictures to the Delta Gamma Greek letters, Auburn University logos, and Lauren’s name. This has also been hard to see at the same time because almost a year ago I was seeing similar groups, posts, and pictures for Virginia Tech. I never thought something like this would ever happen in our small town of Auburn.
My public relations brain has been working hard the past three days. Dealing with the media, assisting our spokesperson, having to lead a prayer vigil (public speaking) under the difficult situation of having my grieving sisters in front of me and media behind me, and planning an event at my home in Atlanta after the memorial service on Saturday. Now I am trying find a way to take advantage of the fire that is currently lit under everyone to increase campus security. I have tossed around ideas of a scholarship fund and a fund to increase and purchase security equipment on campus.
Never before have I ever felt more sure that public relations is the perfect fit for me and I know I will learn so much more in the coming weeks.
Tags: Auburn University, community relations, crisis management, Delta Gamma, Facebook, Lauren Burk, Public Relations