The Southwestern Company Difference Blog
Things have the potential to get pretty hot and heavy when someone jumps the gun. Why? When someone acts or reacts before they understand the full picture, it’s like diving in two feet of water. OUCH!
Such was the case at Texas Tech University recently. That is exactly what happened when an Executive Associate
Dean on the campus sent an e-mail to all the Human Sciences students regarding what she thought was a bogus internship or a ploy to “stalk” students. What she did not know was the internship was, in fact, very legitimate, as it was the Southwestern Company summer sales internship.
The “misunderstanding” started when students were going to the wrong floor in the Mass Comm building to meet Southwestern Company recruiters for an information session to learn more about the summer internship.
As you can well imagine, e-mails like that can spread like wildfire. In fact it had spread beyond the campus to the parent of a student who had been contacted about attending an information session on campus in the Mass Communications building. The daughter was alarmed by the e-mail and told her mom about it. The mother, alertly researched Southwestern Company with the Better Business Bureau. Finding us to be a legitimate company, she initially called me with a concern someone may be posing as Southwestern recruiters, tarnishing our reputation in light of the panic-inducing e-mail. That was not quite the case.
The Daily Toreador ran an article this week to clear up the matter: “Police debunk supposed internship hoax.” While the story has a semi-happy ending, it could just have easily gone the other way. The sender of the e-mail was incorrect about her assumption (albeit in the interest of student safety) and it seems did not go through the proper channels on campus before spreading false information.
This sometimes happens in the summertime when legitimate college students are running their businesses selling Southwestern Company’s educational products to families. One rogue e-mail by someone spooked by the fear of “someone new” can quickly get out of hand. I’ve seen whole towns begin a witch-hunt in search of a student whom someone electronically judged to be “different” or “not from around here” because of ignorance. We’ve come such a long way, yet have such a long way to go. Sad.
My advice: Look before you leap. You may stomp the innocent.
