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Stupid Press Releases Relaunched

Edgy DC Aug 03 2006 01:41 PM

“Paris Hilton-itis has Infected American College Students,” Says Professor Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse Professor and recent guest on ‘The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch,’ says that campus culture is out of control. He offers tips on fixing the problem. (PRWEB) August 4, 2006 -- Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University professor and author of “Quick and Dirty Secrets of College Success,” states that American college students are now being infected with “Paris Hiltonitis.” He claims that the “disease” consists of symptoms related to an overwhelming sense of laziness and entitlement, along with excessive behavior in the form of long nights of partying and drinking. Dr. Watkins argues that this mentality is what creates the environment for situations such as the one at Duke University. “We really need a revolution in parenting,” says Watkins, who has given advice in USA Today and the New York Times. “Our nation is raising a bunch of fat little Play Station addicts who can’t spell the word ‘NBA.’ Then, they wonder why 19-year-old kids at Duke are having parties with 27-year-old strippers and gallons of alcohol.” Watkins has long fought against the ready acceptance of binge drinking on campuses. He argues that these habits lead to students becoming alcoholics or victims of crime. “We produce a lot of graduates, but we also produce a lot of future alcoholics, AIDS patients, rape victims and members of gamblers anonymous,” says Watkins, who was interviewed by Fox News recently on the same topic. “We need to stop allowing young people to believe that drinking till you puke every weekend is simply normal campus behavior. It’s not.” After teaching at five major universities and witnessing many campus tragedies, Dr. Watkins argues that parents can be enablers of this form of behavior. He states that parents don’t expect their children to get jobs on campus, don’t enforce academic excellence and protect their children from their own mistakes. “If you give someone a wheelchair before they learn to walk, then they will never bother to learn to use their legs,” says Watkins, who is now a visiting Scholar with the Center for European Economic Research. “Parents sometimes feel that every little thing must be provided for, and that an energetic 19-year-old is going to use that extra free time to study. Nope, many are going to study 15 hours per week and spend the rest of their time memorizing the local bars, gambling, or having sex with everything that moves. The idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Watkins offers these tips to parents to help their children avoid Paris Hiton-itis: 1) Teach them the concept of personal responsibility. The message should be clear: if you screw up, you are going to have to unscrew yourself. 2) Force them to get a job for 20 hours a week to earn their own money. This will make them more mature, teach them the value of hard work, keep them out of trouble and teach them to manage their time. 3) Teach them to be leaders, not followers. Most students on campus get involved in heavy drinking because they are following the crowd. Give them the courage to be different. 4) Teach them the dangers of alcohol. Show them videos of people killed, hurt or arrested under the influence, so they do not glamorize drinking. 5) Do not accept poor academic performance. This is your money, so you have a right to expect them to do a good job. Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of “Quick and Dirty Secrets of College Success – A professor tells it all”. He is also directs the Step Up and Go to College Program, designed to get inner city students to go to college. He has been a guest on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, Hannity & Colmes, and cited in USA Today, Forbes Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and many other outlets. For interviews, please call (315) 487-1176 or email. For more information, please visit www.boycewatkins.com. ### Press Contact: Dewhite Watkins Company Name: Boyce Watkins Enterprises Email: email protected from spam bots Phone: 315.487.1176 Website: www.boycewatkins.com More Information: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/8/prweb419742.htm

MFS62 Aug 03 2006 01:48 PM

]After teaching at five major universities I wonder if he lost those jobs because of an alcohol problem. and ]Then, they wonder why 19-year-old kids at Duke are having parties with 27-year-old strippers and gallons of alcohol.” So, what's wrong with that? Later

Willets Point Aug 03 2006 01:49 PM

College students lazy? Entitled? Staying up late? Drinking? WHAT'S WRONG WITH KIDS THESE DAYS????

Rotblatt Aug 03 2006 02:02 PM

]“We produce a lot of graduates, but we also produce a lot of future alcoholics, AIDS patients, rape victims and members of gamblers anonymous,” says Watkins I've never seen a "blame the victim" mentality expressed so efficiently before! How truely remarkable!

MFS62 Aug 03 2006 02:04 PM

Rotblatt wrote: I've never seen a "blame the victim" mentality expressed so efficiently before! How truely remarkable! I wonder if that was the subject of his PhD thesis. Later

Johnny Dickshot Aug 03 2006 02:06 PM

I think if you look past the moralizing there's a point there that US society today tends to superficially overparent (car seats till they're 11; dozens of levels of movie and game-ratings classifications, etc.) and underparent everywhere else (dual-working households, crappy daycare, single-parented latch-keyers, reluctance to pay higher taxes for better schools, etc.). Says the most clueless parent ever.

Edgy DC Aug 03 2006 02:09 PM

It's just the cheap publicity ploy of working Paris Hilton and the Duke lacrosse scandal into the lead, plus grandstanding soundbites like "can't spell NBA," that makes me stand and salute.

cooby Aug 04 2006 09:32 AM

I'm sure Dr. Whosit is a fine person and Syracuse is a moderately fine university, but I get a little tired of people telling me that my kids' generation is worthless. I happen to know better. If you don't like kids, professor, get another job.

Elster88 Aug 04 2006 09:34 AM

]Then, they wonder why 19-year-old kids at Duke are having parties with 27-year-old strippers and gallons of alcohol.” I don't think anyone actually wondered WHY they were doing this. It's not like it's that unusual.

Iubitul Aug 04 2006 09:36 AM

Elster88 wrote: ]Then, they wonder why 19-year-old kids at Duke are having parties with 27-year-old strippers and gallons of alcohol.” I don't think anyone actually wondered WHY they were doing this. It's not like it's that unusual. The fact that it's not that unusual is a problem.

Elster88 Aug 04 2006 09:40 AM

Really? The gallons of alcohol has been going on since time immemorial. Is it the hiring of strippers that bothers you? Edit: I want it to be very clear that I'm not condoing the molestation or whatever happened. But the hiring itself of the strippers is what I thought was the focus of the line I quoted.

soupcan Aug 04 2006 10:01 AM

I graduated from a moderately fine university 20 years ago and we binge drank (drunk?) and went to strip clubs and on occasion had strippers at the fraternity house. Strangely enough Paris Hilton never figured into any of that. What this guy is saying is absolutely true but to say that this behavior is new is crap. As to parents being enablers? That's the easy way out. College students are adults and as such are responsible for and to themselves. How come whenever a kid turns out bad 'its the parents fault', but when a kid turns out to be a good citizen the parents 'sure got lucky'?

cooby Aug 04 2006 10:10 AM

Paris Hilton was waaaaay too young for your frat parties, heheh. Anyway, the other point of contention I had with this fella was exactly that, where does he get off pointing to Duke as a den of evil when he could walk around his own campus and find such goings on? Unless Syracuse has cleaned up its act which is highly unlikely because boys will be boys, and I'll tell you what, as far as I know my son hasn't had any strippers over to the house. That kinda stuff seems to start when Mr. whatsit and his crowd take over their overseership.

soupcan Aug 04 2006 10:50 AM

cooby wrote: Paris Hilton was waaaaay too young for your frat parties, heheh. Yeah. I know. cooby wrote: That kinda stuff seems to start when Mr. whatsit and his crowd take over their overseership. I think that's his point. He's saying that when finally on their own, these kids haven't been given enough guidance to make the proper choices.

Elster88 Aug 04 2006 10:52 AM

Hiring strippers is an extremely proper choice.

Edgy DC Aug 04 2006 11:00 AM

soupcan wrote: IWhat this guy is saying is absolutely true but to say that this behavior is new is crap. It may not be new, but he seems to contend that it's expanded and been more normalized, with perhaps the (not new) subclaim that parents are more shy about giving their kids guidance in repsonsible behavior because they feel hypocritical having rampaged through their own youth (despite theirparents less permissive attitudes). I honestly didn't expect this release to be this compelling, I just thought it was worth posting because of them portraying Paris Hilton as a disease. That paragon of irresponsible sluttishnes Paris Hilton being everywhere is a huge problem. Therefore, I'm going to use her to get publicity, and perpetuate the problem in pretending to address it. Sort of like the Onion headline, "Anna Benson Statement Used as Excuse to Print Photo of Anna Benson."

seawolf17 Aug 04 2006 01:05 PM

Elster88 wrote: Hiring strippers is an extremely proper choice. Considering it's hard to get them to work for free.

Johnny Dickshot Aug 22 2006 09:14 AM

It's my understanding this idea was already nixed by the team and this release is merely a buzz-generator. ]Pink Taco Stadium? Morton Stadium? Pink Taco, Famed Morton Family Spice Up Sports World With Blockbuster Bid for Cardinals Stadium Naming Rights Monday August 21, 5:00 pm ET Restaurant Dynasty Behind Morton's Steakhouse, Hard Rock Cafe, Casino & Resort & Pink Taco Makes Largest Naming Rights Offer in Arizona History for New Cardinals Football Stadium SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fiesta Bowl partnered with a bag of chips. So why not America's hottest and most colorfully named Mexican restaurant concept for the Arizona Cardinals acclaimed new stadium? The family behind Morton's Steakhouse, Hard Rock Cafe, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and now the uber-hot Pink Taco Restaurant has officially approached the Arizona Cardinals about securing the naming rights for the home of the Arizona Cardinals, 2007 College Football Championship and 2008 Super Bowl. And with a starting offer of $3 million per year, the Morton Family would eclipse numerous other football stadium naming rights deal and the annual payments of naming rights partners for the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball stadium (Chase Field) and arena housing the Phoenix Suns (US Airways Center). Glendale Arena, home of the Phoenix Coyotes and most of the major concerts to visit the Phoenix Metro area since 2003, has yet to secure a naming rights partner but is believed to be asking less than the Morton's initial offer for Cardinals Stadium. The Mortons are friends of Matt Leinart, huge fans of the NFL and acquaintances and business associates with some of the most famous people in the world. They would definitely not be the same old, boring corporate naming rights partner. The Morton Family, which has recently sold part of its assets for approximately $1.2 billion, is looking for new opportunities -- and to finalize this naming rights deal swiftly. In order to demonstrate their seriousness during a meeting last week with Cardinals officials, Peter Morton wrote and Harry Morton presented a $5 million check. "We have the financial backing, the edge and a generational track record of success that would result in a dynamic, incredible partnership with the Cardinals organization and the fantastic facility they built," Pink Taco President & CEO Harry Morton said. "We are especially attracted to the Arizona Cardinals newly invigorated, youthful, aggressive approach to business. Besides demonstrating our seriousness with today's press conference and offer we also want to know that we're not going to run into some of the foolishness we encountered in Scottsdale -- before we enter into a potential nine figure commitment." Peter and Harry Morton are scheduled to visit with Cardinals ownership later this week. Pink Taco opened its first restaurant in Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel. After being courted by the nation's top developers Harry Morton opened Pink Taco's second restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona earlier this year. Scottsdale's mayor raised questions about the name, despite no such controversy in over six years of operation in Las Vegas. The Scottsdale debate sparked coverage across the country and Arizona, even finding its way to The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live. The public rallied behind the restaurant. Since opening in late June, 2006 Pink Taco is among the most successful restaurants in Arizona history. Pink Taco is a rapidly expanding restaurant empire opening its third locations this January in Los Angles. Other sites in the works include San Diego, another in Arizona, San Francisco, Chicago, Huntington Beach, and Dallas. The potential alliance between Pink Taco and the stadium provides a terrific opportunity to directly assist the NFL's ongoing efforts to attract 21-34 year old males -- a highly coveted and much needed demographic for the NFL. The restaurant's pop-culture popularity is evident in the overwhelmingly positive launch of the restaurant, both locally and nationally. Pink Taco's third restaurant will open this January in Los Angeles. Friends with numerous NFL owners, the Morton Family is a huge fan of the NFL and NCAA college football and has long been interested in the possibility of becoming more directly involved with the NFL, even contemplating team ownership. Peter, who founded Hard Rock Cafe in 1972 and later sold the worldwide restaurant group as well as the hotel and casino for nearly $1.2 billion combined. Peter's father, Arnold, founded the legendary Morton's Steakhouses. If they ultimately negotiate an agreement with Cardinals ownership the Morton Family would prefer to brand the stadium as "Pink Taco Stadium." They may also be open to "Morton Stadium" if there can be a heavy emphasis on Pink Taco marketing, merchandising and offerings throughout the stadium. Time is money. A partnership with Pink Taco/Morton would help Cardinals Stadium avoid the naming rights delays associated with Glendale Arena and end its inclusion as one of the 14 NFL facilities without a corporately sponsored stadium. And the Morton proposal, besides being the richest in Arizona history, would surpass football stadium deals in Detroit, Jacksonville, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and San Diego, among others, as well as numerous others for baseball, basketball, collegiate and hockey facilities. Pink Taco Scottsdale is located at 7135 E. Camelback Road at the Scottsdale Waterfront. To reach the restaurant, call 480.675.7777 or visit www.pinktaco.com

Yancy Street Gang Aug 22 2006 09:19 AM

Nothing objectionable about Morton Stadium. You can kid yourself into thinking it's named after an Arizona Cardinal great, or a beloved former Phoenix mayor, or something like that. Pink Taco Stadium, however, is that stuff of which laughingstocks are made. I can't imagine any team accepting such a name. Take a million less and sell your soul, er, naming rights, to the second highest bidder.

MFS62 Aug 22 2006 09:24 AM

If they want to hype one of their brands, why not Hard Rock? Now THAT is a name for a football stadium. Pink Taco? I can just imagine what opposing team players are going to say across the line of scrimmage. Later

SwitchHitter Aug 22 2006 11:12 AM

I'm sorry, but Pink Taco makes me think of something they don't want me thinking of. A feminist I knew 15 years ago used to say that "Many men eat tacos and womanly women smile a lot." I magine that pink ones are shaved.

Yancy Street Gang Aug 22 2006 11:29 AM

That convinced me! They simply have to name it Pink Taco stadium!

Giant Squidlike Creature Oct 03 2006 06:49 PM

Bump.

Willets Point Oct 31 2006 05:46 PM

Bump.

cooby Nov 02 2006 11:48 AM

This isn't stupid, but... http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061031/denmark_lego.html?.v=2

Willets Point Dec 05 2006 07:33 PM

Bump, but this is last time.

cooby Dec 13 2006 07:38 AM

http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2006/dec/13jolie.htm Here you go, Willets. This is as stupid as a press release as you can get. Finally, Angelina Jolie has spoken. In an exclusive, tell-all interview to Vogue magazine, the actress has spilt the beans on Brad Pitt, and her relationship with the actor. Unlike what rumours had fans believing, the actress makes it clear that she and Pitt were not involved during the filming of Mr & Mrs Smith. 'I think we were both the last two people who were looking for a relationship. I certainly wasn't. I was quite content to be a single mom,' Jolie tells the magazine. 'Because of the film we ended up being brought together to do all these crazy things, and I think we found this strange friendship and partnership that kind of just suddenly happened,' she says. Jolie remained 'very, very good friends' with Pitt after shooting ended, she says. 'And then life developed in a way where we could be together, where it felt like something we would do, we should do.' Don't expect the twice-divorced Jolie, 31 and Pitt, 42, to suddenly up and get married, the actress warns. 'We are legally bound to our children, not to each other, and I think that's the most important thing,' the actress is quoted in Vogue. In the picture, the couple look content at the premiere of Jolie's new film, The Good Shepherd, in New York on Monday December 11. Photograph: Getty Images

cooby Dec 14 2006 11:30 AM

Report: Diana's Death A 'Tragic Accident' Not as stupid as yesterday's, though. Worse, that one still has legs.

Willets Point Jan 17 2007 01:59 PM

Bump. This is coming close to "Stupid Press Releases, Grounded".

Johnny Dickshot Jan 23 2007 10:25 AM

I think it's gonna be hard to out-stupid this: ]HEAR AND SEE JIMI - NOW BEVERAGE CONCEPTS OFFERS ANOTHER WAY TO EXPERIENCE JIMI HENDRIX Beverage Concepts to Introduce The Liquid Experience - a Beverage Line with the Exclusive Rights to Jimi Hendrix LOS ANGELES, (NAMM Show) January 19th, 2007 - Beverage Concepts LLC and Authentic Hendrix made noise today at the NAMM Show by announcing the launch of the only official beverage line to carry the exclusive rights to the Jimi Hendrix name and image. The rock 'n beverage line, named The Liquid Experience, will launch in late April at the Experience Music Project's (www.emplive.org <http://www.emplive.org>) Jimi Hendrix exhibit during a celebrity-filled event at their interactive music museum in Seattle. “Beverage Concepts is committed to providing in our beverage line the same level of excitement, undefined coolness, rock 'n roll feel, and unprecedented taste that is synonymous with the Jimi Hendrix image,” explained Beverage Concepts CEO, Josh Glass. “We are especially pleased to announce this partnership with Authentic Hendrix here at NAMM where we are surrounded by Jimi Hendrix fans and by music lovers from around the globe.” The first of Hendrix-themed beverages will be produced in a visually unique screw-top aluminum bottle, the first of its kind in the United States. Additionally, Beverage Concepts will be promoting the drink throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia, and in tandem with the traveling Jimi Hendrix museum called the Red House Tour (http://www.redhousetour.com/). These rolling events will be announced at a future date. A portion of the proceeds from The Liquid Experience will be donated to charitable organizations that support educating youth through the power of music. About Beverage Concepts Beverage Concepts, LLC was founded in 2006 to blend the energy and excitement of the music entertainment industry with the opportunities of the specialty beverage market. Recognizing the opportunity for a high quality, all natural beverage line, delivered to consumers in a high-impact package that connects customers to a legendary entertainment icon and identity, Beverage Concepts secured the exclusive marketing and licensing rights to the Jimi Hendrix brand. Under the brand name Liquid Experience, Beverage Concepts will introduce a complete Jimi Hendrix line of specialty drinks that embody the rock-n-roll passion associated with this legendary musical performer. This new line has been crafted to not only help consumers feel good physically (high quality, great tasting) but also feel good emotionally, as a portion of the proceeds from this line will be dedicated to educating youth through music. For additional information on Beverage Concepts, Liquid Experience or the Education through Music for Youth program, please visit the Web site at www.beverageconcepts.net <http://www.beverageconcepts.net>.