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Week in Review

Ali Lincoln

This was one of those weeks for news that you will remember for the rest of your life. Future generations will ask where you were and how the day’s events made you feel. Savor these moments and memories because really, runaway llamas and color changing dresses are once-in-a-lifetime events, people.
Once you’ve recovered from the internet breaking, scroll down for updates from your favorite team.
What’s new this week:
NASPA was featured in a USA TODAY editorial debate about colleges and binge drinking. The op-ed by Ann Quinn-Zobeck, senior director of peer education initiatives and training, offered examples of how colleges ARE working hard to reduce alcohol issues on campus.
NAPSA had a double-hit week, as president Kevin Kruger was quoted in an Inside Higher Ed piece on drugs and punishments on college campuses.
What we’ve been talking about:
Erin Hennessy wrote a thoughtful piece on the responsibility of higher ed leaders and communications teams to speak up when it comes to all of the important conversations happening right now in higher ed.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t have at least one team member mention House of Cards this week, since season three premiered in the wee hours of the morning today. Kyle Gunnels proved that HoC can actually be professional development, so don’t feel badly about calling in sick to watch it.
What we’ve been reading: 
Teresa Valerio Parrot
This was an interesting read in light of the Academy Awards and the insights are relatable to higher ed—rankings and awards don’t necessarily reflect popularity. And sometimes lasting impressions among your key audiences mean more than a trophy.
Thank you to Erin for sharing this piece with me, because she knows I adore NdT. Two things— 1) I, too, think Saturn is the prettiest planet and 2) Neil must have been media trained (wahoo!). Here was his description of a sound bite: “He worked hard, he says, on becoming a great communicator on television, scientifically analyzing and perfecting the sound bite. Each quip ‘should be tasty. It should be informative,’ he says. ‘And ideally, it should make you smile, or laugh, and certainly want to share it with someone else. So I practiced that.'”
This piece is a bit old, but I’ve been intrigued to see that my daughter is considering a number of colleges and universities outside of the United States and apparently she isn’t the only one. There are some important marketing and communications considerations for our field if this trend truly gains steam. 
This isn’t to read—it is just to enjoy. These kids are epic.
Kristine Maloney
Let’s just say I could have written most of this article myself—right down to getting help from younger, more tech-savvy and all around cooler colleagues. Thanks Kyle.
Here’s another thing I’m reading. It’s an interesting look at the life of adjuncts.
Ali Lincoln
I saw Ed Trust’s “What He Learned at School” from their Between the Echoes series on Twitter this week and spent half of my morning reading the rest of the series and the Echoes from the Gap series. A little dramatic, but nonetheless poignant and unfortunately, an accurate depiction of some of the things I saw when I taught in an urban high school.
Also, I was trying to make Parks and Rec last as long as possible by reading every single series-related article available. This one was particularly good. And the FBI tweeting to Burt Macklin was particularly awesome.
Kyle Gunnels
For some reason, I’m interested in Presidential libraries and all that goes into securing and building one—so this Washington Post article about two universities hoping for the Obama Presidential Library had some good insights.
This is just awesome and a great way to repurpose space—an abandoned Walmart in Texas is now the largest single-floor library in the country.
Erin Hennessy
I’m always interested in stories about Deaf culture because my mother has worked as an American Sign Language interpreter in public schools. This story about how ASL adapts to Internet slang was fascinating to me—a wonderful reminder that all languages, including non-spoken ones—are constantly evolving.
This piece (part of a multi-part series of columns in The Washington Post this week) gives a whole new meaning to identity theft—scammers are using photos of high-ranking military officials to create dating profiles and scam women for cash.
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