Texas Christian University officials didn't wait for the news media to catch wind of the arrests of 15 students in an undercover police drug operation.
They announced it, loud and clear.The school's aggressive, hands-on approach to the story began Wednesday morning with a blunt news conference and swift notification of all students and faculty."There is no doubt that all of those arrested today are drug dealers," TCU Police Chief Steven McGee said.The university also confirmed that it had hired a consultant, Teresa Valerio Parrot, to help manage the situation.TCU's strategy is winning approval from some experts in communications and crisis management."There is an old saying among crisis managers: Always go for the quick bleed rather than the slow hemorrhage," said Chris Anderson, director of communications for The Marketing Arm, a Dallas-based sports and entertainment marketing agency. "Get it out there and get it over with. We'll see, but I thought [TCU] did a nice job."The level of transparency is somewhat unusual for universities and colleges, institutions that are typically protective of their reputations, some experts say. At the news conference, Chancellor Victor J. Boschini Jr. said openness was the proper course.TCU officials have made no comments since the news conference, but Boschini said then that most of the early feedback from students and faculty had been positive.Some, however, saw overkill. On social media and online message boards, TCU fans worried that the administration's reaction turned the drug sting into a bigger scandal than necessary."The best thing to do would have been to keep this a part of TCU only," a poster named "LuvFrog" wrote on KillerFrogs.com. "Kick them off the team and suspend from school, FINE. But to have this dog and pony in the media before all the facts are known was uncalled for. ... Hopefully it doesn't get worse for TCU because of the way they decided to showcase these minor crimes."Tom Garrity, a 1986 TCU graduate and owner of a public relations firm in Albuquerque, said his alma mater was in a lose-lose situation."You're kind of darned if you do and darned if you don't," said Garrity, who runs The Garrity Group Public Relations. "It's definitely a big, negative hit. But if you don't address it, then people are left to their own devices. You want to get the facts out as fast as you can."Patterson under wrapsThe 15 TCU students, including four football players, were among 18 people arrested after a months-long investigation that included hand-to-hand drug purchases by undercover officers.Drugs were sold at a fraternity house and other locations near campus, police said.Anderson said that not making football coach Gary Patterson available to answer questions made sense, though others may disagree.When a situation is fluid, a live setting increases the likelihood that someone will be caught off-guard by a question or say something that turns out to be wrong, he said.Patterson instead released a statement that said in part: "There are days people want to be a head football coach, but today is not one of those days. As I heard the news this morning, I was first shocked, then hurt and now I'm mad."The statement carried the proper tone, Anderson said."He took a strong stand; it wasn't wishy-washy," Anderson said. "Of course, he tends not to be that way anyway."Lessons of Penn StateTransparency about crime and safety is generally improving at colleges and universities, experts say.The recent child sex abuse scandal at Penn State and the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech likely weigh on the minds of administrators.Both schools were criticized for a lack of transparency.TCU officials appeared to do a good job of quickly communicating with students about the drug busts and the status of the arrested students, said Alison Kiss, executive director of Security on Campus Inc., a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that advocates for safer campuses."Often, it takes a large-scale event to learn the lesson," Kiss said.Alex Branch, 817-390-7689Twitter: @albranch1Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
