Dunking boosts awareness

Associated Students President Suzi Aramesh got wet for a good cause on Tuesday.

In an effort to raise awareness for this week's Red Cross blood drive, Aramesh and editors from the Daily Forty-Niner and Long Beach Union served as dunk-tank bait in a promotional event sponsored in part by Andrew Jergens Company.

The event, titled Makin' Waves at the Beach with Jergens Refreshing Body Shampoo, was presented by four Cal State Long Beach students who are competing in a public relations contest sponsored by Jergans.

The contest allows the public relations students to implement the skills they acquire in the classroom in a real-life promotion.

The focus of Tuesday's event was to help spread the word about Jergans Body Shampoo while involving students in the blood drive.

"We hope our efforts will let more people know about the blood drive and donate," public relations major, Lynne Nielson said.

Nielson is one of the four competing public relations students. The others are Carrie Larson, Shari Gold, and Stephanie Szallay.

Nielson, Larson, Gold and Szallay represent CSULB in a national competition, which has seen its field of competing schools narrowed from 35 to 20 for this, the final round of competition.

If they emerge as contest winners, the four CSULB students will split a $2000 cash prize and a trip to Cincinnati.

Students who chose to try their arms at the dunk tank got a free sample of Jergens Body Shampoo and a coupon good for a dollar off their next Jergans Body Shampoo purchase.

During the event, which ran from noon to 1 p.m., students were encouraged to dunk such campus personalities as, Aramesh, Daily Forty-Niner city editor Brian Thompson and Long Beach Union editor, Mike Coombs.

Aramesh was splashed into the tank several times, while Thompson proved a harder target, taunting the crowd with statements such as, "I'm just bored. I need someone who can throw."

A.S. presidential nominee Mike Gallagher was M.C. for the event.

The blood is being collected by a staff of Red Cross nurses in the Student Union, Multipurpose Room C, today and Thursday from 8:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteer Evelyn Haesloop said, "We've had a good response so far."

Haesloop added that walk-ins are welcome, but are advised to come earlier in the morning. Those donating should also allot a reasonable amount of time to the procedure, which takes about 45 minutes.