Dean Eisenberg is not a celebrity

 

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Eric Eisenberg is far from a celebrity and the obnoxious videos need to stop.

The first welcome video from Eisenberg on the CAS YouTube channel showed a little bit of his goofy side, but it was also serious enough for students to be able to
respect him.

Once the parody videos began, it only went downhill from there.

“Dean Eisenberg is Flawless,” a “Mean Girls” parody made by CAS in October, was the first of the obnoxious videos. Eisenberg is not supposed to be a celebrity; he is a mentor for students and a leader for CAS and should comport himself as such.

On Wednesday, CAS posted a video titled “#CoolestIntershipEver” (sic) in which the girls featured in the video have an entire conversation using hashtags. The video does not highlight the intelligence of the interns but rather their immaturity. The end of the video features Eisenberg interrupting them and telling students to apply for the internship now.

Why would anyone want to apply for an internship where hashtags are an acceptable form of communication?

CAS could have given that message in a much clearer and more appealing way by making a video about what the interns actually do.

On Thursday, another obnoxious video titled “Dean Eisenberg: Know His Name” was posted. This video was a parody of the popular TV crime drama “Breaking Bad” and is another example of Eisenberg portrayed as a celebrity. It seems that it is also a sign that the parody video was not a one-time occurrence.

Based on the other videos on the CAS YouTube channel, the videographer clearly has talent to skillfully edit videos in a creative way. They also have several videos about meaningful events on campus such as Homecoming and the Oktoberfest hosted by CAS.

Rather than focusing on creating a celebrity image for Eisenberg with these videos, CAS should create videos that market the college and its students more. Afteralll, it is the CAS YouTube channel reflecting the university, not the Eisenberg channel.

This can still be done in a fun and creative way, but the parody videos do not have much value for CAS students and it only makes the dean look unprofessional and the interns look like all they do is praise Eisenberg.