Cultural Events

Cultural Attendance

I participated in a lot of on campus and off campus events this semester.
I attended the Music Concert in November for SAI, also in November I went to Shenandoah University to hear one of my best friends senior recital which was absolutely amazing as it was focused on Jazz and was performed with perfection. I also  attended an event with BSU where we sang karaoke with other groups on campus in order to create some unity. As well as Org Fair!

Competitors

More information collected on other schools that have nutrition information in their dining halls, talked with SGA about working with them, they are working on achieving this at the other locations to eat on campus but have yet to tackle d-hall.

https://su.sodexomyway.com/health/calculator.html

https://jmu.campusdish.com/Commerce/Catalog/Menus.aspx?LocationId=3222

These are the two college campuses that I have decided to focus on in terms of my competitors. They are Shenandoah University and James Madison University. One is a smaller school while the other is large. But they both have implemented having nutritional information available to their student via their schools website. 

Project Design and Research

Upon much thought I have decided how I will take on this project. If I want to implement access to nutrition information I need to go to the source of the problem, the staff and the managers of dining services as well as the dean of students. In order to make change or present an idea of change I need to have plenty of evidence to back it up. Therefore I am going to create a campaign. I plan on compiling research, then surveying students that often eat at the dining hall. After that I am going to look into what other colleges do and try and present some options for our school and survey students on some of the ideas. Once all of this information is collected it will then be taken to the proper sources and hopefully implemented. As of right now I am still working on the research process, developing a timeline and coming up with appropriate questions for a survey that will be presented to those eating at the dining hall. 

I will be following an outline used in Matts campains class, as it is clear and will bring me the results I need to meet my ultimate goal. 

Background Parts of Campaign Plan are:

1.       Client Analysis

2.       Publics Analysis

3.       Competitor Analysis or Analysis of Similar Organizations

4.       Situation Analysis

5.       References

6.       Appendix A

Some sources

Attributions within a case study for further research
Grunert and Wills, 2007; Ollberding, 2011).
 (Silverglade and Heller, 2010).
 (Mello et al., 2006)

"Studies focusing on college students found food labels can be a useful tool in developing healthier eating habits and improve nutrition (Silverglade and Heller, 2010; Drichoutis et. al., 2006; Kim et. al, 2000; Taylor and Wilkening, 2008; Todd and Variyam, 2008"

http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/17370/Rouhani_umd_0117N_16779.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

This case study offered a lot of information on the use of nutrition labels and the impact it could have on college students if implemented.

My plan is to complete the proposal section of the campaign process in order to take it to the school to discuss with the right officials the possibility of implementing the use of nutrition labels in the dining hall.

Ongoing academic research

This statement is one I found on Shepherds Website: "Shepherd University Dining Services, makes every effort to identify allergens in our food served. However, because of the number of meals served and the number of items used each day, along with food product changes from our food vendors, there is a risk of food allergen cross contamination at any given point during our food preparation and we cannot guarantee that every allergen in the food served will be identified and labeled. Please be aware that in our facilities we prepare foods and use equipment that may contain traces of eggs, nuts, gluten, dairy, seafood and other allergens. The possibility that manufacturers of the commercial foods we use could change the formulation at any time, without notice also exists. Customers concerned with food allergies must be aware of this risk. Shepherd University Dining Services cannot assume any liability for adverse reactions to food consumed, or items one may come in contact with while eating at any Shepherd University Dining facility or catered event."  http://shepherddining.com/locations/ 

Upon researching the menus on Shepherds website I have found that they supply menu items but no nutritional information. This is somewhat what I had hoped to find so that I could continue this campaign to get nutritional information to Shepherd students. 
http://shepherddining.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ZWANG_Sun-Cyl_1.pdf
I now plan on getting into contact with the schools nutritionist and food service manager as well as look into other universities and there meal plan options as well as if they have nutritional listed. 

Capstone ideas part 1

My plans for my capstone as of this moment in time is to create a campaign on campus for Type 1 Diabetes awareness. In order to do this I will be researching Type 1 diabetes awareness events typically put on by JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). I will look at  past campaigns as well as social media content. I would like create a fundraiser, hopefully hold a walk, raise awareness with a table in the rams den, create fliers and work with rampulse directly (which would require me to talk to program board.)

Relay for life is big here and diabetes has become more prominent and effects many people.

When I was a freshman I had a pretty difficult time controlling my diabetes due to eating at dining hall with no idea as to how many carbohydrates were in the foods that I was eating. Upon contacting the nutritionist at Shepherd University I was told that it was basically impossible to tell how many carbohydrates (and other nutrition facts) were in the food made at the dining hall, due to the different cooks making the food. My nutritionist back at home agreed that it was absurd to have received this answer.

I know I am not the only diabetic at Shepherd University. Health has come to the forefront recently and I believe that it is important to know these nutrition facts. Much of this is my reasoning behind making this topic my capstone project.

Awareness is key in my project, this is a campaign to raise awareness, fundraise, and bring a community together as well as broaden understanding of this disease.