Case Study

Read over the Case Study Document and respond to the questions below.

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  1. Based on the information presented in the case study, would you consider the campaign as a success or as an example of slacktivism?
    1. If you view the campaign as successful, what aspects of the campaign make it a success? What would you respond to someone who might argue that the campaign is an example of slacktivism?
    2. If you view the campaign as unsuccessful, what aspects of the campaign make it unsuccessful in your eyes? Why could the campaign be viewed as an example of slacktivism?
  2. What would you recommend to Amanda? How can she use the momentum the campaign created on her campus to initiate and/or drive further strategic initiatives for diversity and inclusion on campus?
  3. Research the different types of institutions that make up the NCAA (public, private, faith-based, historically Black col- lege and universities, etc.). How do you think each of these types of institution engaged their student-athletes in the campaign? What are some unique challenges and opportunities for these different types of institutions? Explain.
  4. Do you anticipate any schools resisting participation in the campaign? As a student-athlete or a member of the athletics department, how would you deal with resistance from peers who do not want to participate in the campaign? Explain.
  5. Research the three Divisions that make up the NCAA. Drawing from the unique aspects that define each Division (e.g., Division philosophy, core values, size of institutions, etc.), what challenges do you think schools in each Division faced when it came to participating in the campaign? In turn, what were the unique opportunities/strengths for each Division?
  6. One of the things Jamie stressed in her communication materials for the campaign was that diversity goes beyond race and gender. Why can it be an issue to define diversity primarily through a race and gender lens? What are some invisible identities that student-athletes may not be as aware of?
  7. Look at the five themes for the diversity and inclusion social media campaign. Which of the themes do you think most resonated with the student-athletes? Why?
  8. Using the NCAA Demographics Database that is referenced throughout the case study, look at some of the demographics statistics across the different sports sponsored by the NCAA. What trends do you notice regarding gender and racial demographics across sports? What sports are racially most diverse? What sports lack racial diversity? Why do you think this is the case? What are some of the socio-cultural factors that affect the racial diversity of a sport?
  9. Jamie reviewed the demographics of the NCAA student-athletes, coaches, and administrators before working on the campaign. Why do you think women and people of color struggle to advance to leadership positions in college athletics?
  10. While the social media campaign was focused on student- athletes, it was open to all members of NCAA member institutions. How would you have participated in the campaign?
  11. What are the unique strengths of the social media platforms mentioned in the case study when it comes to engaging campaign participants? How would you have leveraged the unique strengths of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to increase participation in the campaign? How can social media platforms not mentioned in the manuscript be used to engage student-athletes in the campaign (e.g., Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.)?
  12. From an organizational perspective, how can the NCAA use its own resources to track and support meaningful actions during and after the campaign? For instance, how can the NCAA’s four committees that focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion (Board of Governors Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and Equity, Committee for Women’s Athletics, Gender Equity Task Force, and Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee) support the campaign? Similarly, how can the annual NCAA Inclusion Forum, the signature event of the office of inclusion, engage with the campaign?