Well played, Rollin.
Humboldt State University has formally requested that late night host Jimmy Kimmel speak at this year’s commencement ceremonies. As you’ll recall, the television yuk-slinger scored some laughs at HSU’s expense in November in a segment playing up the college’s new Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research Institute, portraying the Humboldt student body as “pot-obsessed slackers.”
OK, we thought it was funny. But…
A tongue-in-cheek-ish letter signed by HSU President Rollin Richmond and Associated Students President Ellyn Henderson Hender☼ is now calling on the comedian to come visit HSU and speak to the graduating class on May 18 (or the fall class, if he can’t swing spring). The letter makes the case as to why Mr. Kimmel should accept:
“Besides, we figure you owe us. Humboldt State provided you just over 3 minutes of pretty good material, which must be worth quite a bit for a nationally televised program (though we are surprised you were unable to stretch the bit to 4 minutes 20 seconds).”
(Note: Rollin Richmond has a sense of humor. That might be the real story here.)
Anywho, read the whole letter here — tuition-paying students will note that the university sent the celebrity a nice, new hat along with the letter.
Your move, Kimmel.
… and in case you missed it, here’s the video that started it all…
UPDATE: We have been alerted to the fact that the AS President styles her last name “Hender☼” (see the signature on the letter) as opposed to “Henderson” which appeared in an early version on this blog. Since we finally found out how to make our keyboard do that, we made the change. The Journal regrets the error.
This article appears in Waiting for Chinn.
This is like Colbert being invited to roast Bush at the Press Corps dinner. If Kimmel accepts, I predict Rollin will push his retirement back 5 years, to distance himself and save face after a public relations disaster that will be replaying itself on Youtube for years to come.
Pretty perfect alright, this whole episode clearly categorizes HSU in the minds of parents of high school seniors everywhere. Hmmm, where should we spend those thousands of tuition dollars over the next 4 (or maybe 10) years….
HSU surely thinks this is a genius PR maneuver. Any resulting national media coverage will cement an equation in peoples’ minds: Humboldt State = pot school.
They’re taking bad national publicity (in terms of parents paying to send their kids here) and may actually manage to amplify the damage.
Jimmy is not going to tour HSU and renounce Humboldt as having a pot culture. Quite the opposite. I’d love, love, love to know who dreamed the idea up, just to see if that person still has a job a year later.
Seriously.. It’s Hender?, not Henderson. I’m seriously getting sick of all the granolas in this town.
If you’re going to start an Institute of Marijuana Research, you certainly want to get the word out, so people interested in same would know about it, wouldn’t you?
More Jimmy Kimmel Humboldt-bashing footage would certainly help do it.
Oh yeah? Ask how Chico admissions went after it was branded a ‘party school’ in 1987. Or about the festival that turned into a street riot, largely blamed on ‘outsiders’ who flocked to Chico because of the party school label. It’s a designation still associated with the school in some areas.
FYI, an “Institute” is just a label on paper. An institute is usually just money to do something, and the institute is a faculty member in his regular ol’ office. So ask yourself, would HSU invite Kimmel to get a boost in wannabe marijuana researchers?
Or, would reminding high schoolers and parents about Humboldt = pot result in some parents choosing not to send their kid to HSU and, at the same time, attract stoners to the school? Have you lived in the dorms? Have you seen what happens to the kids who treat their college career as a chance to smoke out every night? They’re often gone by December, or, if they’re lucky, Mom and Dad don’t pull funding until June. HSU doesn’t need, or want, freshmen who drop out.
Every school has students who smoke marijuana, just because HSU has opened a marijuana research institute doesn’t mean they are the symbol of smoking and/or promote it. 18 states allow marijuana smoking so why is it a big deal if HSU makes a research institute for it?
Got to any CSU dorms you’ll find marijuana. Go to UCLA’s dorms and you’ll find students smoking marijuana. If smoking marijuana was such a bad thing why would 18 states allow it?
I mildly feel offended that HSU was bashed to look like we are all “pot-head slackers”. I’m a bio major that doesn’t even smoke pot and I’m not alone. There are hundreds of us that don’t smoke and for the ones that do they are highly educated young people that will that will succeed in their futures.
HSU is a not just a great school it’s amazing. I wouldn’t jump too fast on judging a place you’ve never been to because HSU is nothing like that video. And for the parents that are worried about their kid going to a “stoner school” well your kid probably already does or they should know that they can’t decide everything for their child and they have to learn to survive on their own.
I graduated from HSU and I feel Jimmy’s video was spot-on in many respects.