By Alyssa Sanford
News Assistant
A jam-packed general body session on Wednesday, April 22, opened with a presentation about improving the College’s branding strategy, the passage of a new bill and the approval of three on-
campus organizations.
The College’s now-famous Spokesman, David Muha, gave a presentation on raising brand awareness at the College to a room full of vocal supporters.
“If you don’t know (Muha), you’re not from TCNJ,” President Matthew Wells said.
Muha, who is part of the Strategic Planning and Resource Committee (SPARC), proposed a new tagline for the College to jumpstart the rebranding process: “The TCNJ Way.”
The tagline, which stemmed from a SPARC meeting on Wednesday, March 4 about the College’s core values, refers to "(defining) excellence the TCNJ way,” which for Muha implies “we do it better, with greater substance” than other colleges and universities.
“It really invites a conversation,” Muha said on how he hopes prospective students will react to the tagline. “What is the TCNJ way?”
A proposed addition to the tagline, which would reinforce the College’s superior academic reputation, is “Higher Education. Only Higher.”
He threw out taglines that are linked to other notable New Jersey public colleges — Rutgers’ "Revolutionary for 250 Years" and Montclair’s “It’s All Here” — to prove that “any of these taglines could really belong to an institution.” Muha’s ultimate goal is to create a “more specific” and meaningful tagline for the College.
According to Muha, a brand is something both “tangible and intangible” that captures “the spirit” of the institution. He cited Princeton University as a model brand, because it is so well-known on a local, national and global level.
Muha also mentioned that "the College has hd a difficult time" with branding in the past, a potential reason why “we’re a ‘best-kept secret,’ which is a phrase we all hate.”
“We have pride in who we are,” Muha said. “Is the TCNJ way truly anything distinctive? I happen to think so.”
Three student organizations presented to the general body after Muha’s presentation: the College’s chapter of NAACP, TCNJ Wellness League and TCNJ American Veterans Club.
The NAACP chapter is in the process of gaining the national organization’s recognition, but it sought SG recognition for Student Finance Board funding and the ability to advertise for events, like the upcoming “All Lives Matter” campaign in Fall 2015.
According to the NAACP executive board, it’s an organization for “the advancement of all people who feel like they don’t have a voice.”
TCNJ Wellness League, a coalition of mental health clubs on campus, has been actively meeting with representatives from different mental health organizations on campus since Fall 2013.
The executive board sought recognition from SG for SFB funding and the ability to reserve space and advertise for events. It recently co-sponsored the “Breathe In, Breathe Out” campaign on campus.
Finally, the TCNJ American Veterans Club, which seeks to fundraise for veterans who have suffered physical and emotional trauma, said that it does not plan to seek SFB funding because it will donate 80 percent of its funds to the Wounded Warrior Project and reserve 20 percent of its funds in order to sustain the organization.
The general body voted in favor of recognizing NAACP, Wellness League and TCNJ American Veterans Club as clubs.
Next, Adam Bonnano, vice president of Community Relations, advertised several upcoming events.
The Ewing Township Police Department will hold an Off-Cam-
pus Safety program on Wednesday, May 6, at noon in Roscoe 202 to talk about building better relationships with the Ewing community.
The Senior Sendoff will also be held on Wednesday, May 6, at 9 p.m. in the library auditorium, and will feature a photo slide-
show to honor the senior class.
Bonanno also announced a cleanup of Pennington Road with members of the Ewing community on Sunday, May 3, from noon to 3 p.m. It is Community Relations’ goal to make it a “sustainable, long-term” campus-wide service project for years to come.
Javier Nicasio, vice president of Equity and Diversity, talked about his committee’s newly-formed Bias Response Team. Any interested students are invited to apply to sit on the board, and a “diverse” group of students will fill seats to reflect the campus’s diverse community.
Senior Class Council President Brian Garsh said that between 300 and 400 people are expected to attend the combined senior and junior night out on Cinco de Mayo.
Junior Class President Emily Montagna announced that the class is looking for Commencement volunteers.
