News article belongs in opinion section
In response to a story in The Daily Gamecock that stated “an unashamed display of bribery took place on the Horseshoe Wednesday night,” the USC’s Visitor Center hosted an evening for its 80 University Ambassadors.
The purpose of this event was to expose them to the multitude of restaurants and attractions that Columbia has to offer.
The event was organized after the Visitor Center staff realized that the student volunteers, who interact personally with more than 120,000 visitors each year, including tours to thousands of prospective students and their families, recommend mostly the same restaurants after their visit to USC.
On college budgets, students may not have as many opportunities to try a multitude of restaurants and visit area attractions.
The event, which featured six restaurants and seven area attractions, was not organized to “wine and dine” the Ambassadors but to provide new venues for visitors to check out.
In their role promoting the university, Ambassadors highlight the unique and interesting aspects of its thriving capital city.
The article failed to mention that 50 restaurants and 25 attractions in Columbia were contacted to participate in the event.
It also didn’t mention that the Ambassadors spent even more time talking with the staff from the South Carolina Military Museum, the Columbia Museum of Art, the Columbia City Ballet, the Nickelodeon Theatre and the Historic Columbia Foundation learning about what they offer Columbia and its visitors than they spent eating food from the restaurants featured.
They even spent time talking with the City Center Partnership learning more about the city and its planned growth.
The Visitor Center’s mobile application was also promoted at the event.
An Ambassador met with each venue during the event to strengthen partnerships between the university and the local businesses and attractions and to encourage their participation in the mobile application.
This piece belonged on the opinion page, not the front page as a news story. I would have gladly answered a reporter’s questions, had any been asked. The focus of “Selling the City” was not to bribe the Ambassadors but to build partnerships.
Yes, there was free food and a few giveaways, as the article suggested.
But the Ambassadors gained knowledge from the event — there is a great variety of quality restaurants and intriguing attractions in Columbia.
Now they can share what they learned with visitors and provide a more well-rounded visit for Carolina’s prospective students and their families.
— Denise Wellman is the director of USC’s Visitor Center.