In December 2004, Juan Gonzales, Chair of the Department of Journalism, presented a kiosk proposal to the the college’s Communications Committee. AdCamp, a southern California company, contacted the journalism department with a proposal to install 5-6 kiosks at high-traffic areas on the Ocean campus to dispense the campus newspapers. In return for the kiosk, which includes bimonthly maintenance, Adcamp would be able to place ads on 2 of the 3 display boards. Adcamp agrees to pay the Department of Journalism a rate per month per kiosk. The arrangement would be in place for 5 years. The discussion following the proposal mainly focused on the two issues: advertisements on campus and the “five” year contract. Based on enrollment, the company will pay the Journalism Department $50-$75 per month for each kiosk.
In March 2005, after several discussion, and not without reservation, the committee voted (5to 1) to recommend the AdCamp proposal to the College Advisory Council. The majority of the committee members felt the benefits to the journalism students outweigh the negative impact of having advertisements on campus. The committee did point out that other issues will need to be addressed before the proposal will go through. The discussion did bring to light the need for the College to make guidelines regarding advertisements on campus. The proposal should be weighed against preserving the character of the nearly advertisement-free park-like setting of the Ocean campus in particular.
So, the kiosks arrived last week, 3 years later. The advertisements I saw were for Healds College and the California Culinary Academy. CCA is the the only real competitor to the culinary department here on Ocean campus. What do you think?
