Albineaux News:
1) Someone from UL finally said something to me. I recently emailed the athletics department AGAIN asking for just the chance to pitch Albineaux. I got brief response saying the Office of Communication and Marketing handle all things related to a mascot. Fair enough! Thanks for the redirect! I’m happy somebody directly associated with the university finally said a peep to me. I sent that same request email to UL Marketing. However, that office is who I have been sending emails to for past two years, and they continue to be silent.
2) Probably because I got someone from the RCAF to talk to them. I think one of the reasons I even got that brief response was because I was able to find a RCAF ally to talk to them. Obviously that ally couldn’t say much about what they talked about but, AND THIS IS BIG, they definitely know Albineaux exist. Which someone might say “How could they not, Al’s everywhere.” Well since no one from UL has said anything publicly or privately about him, this is the first time I can say plausible deniability on not seeing our campaign is now gone. Acknowledgement has been a pushing point from the start of this campaign. I'm going to rant a little bit but it sucks that I had to fight so hard just to get one sentence. If at any point I was treated as a fan, an alum, or a human that deserved any answer, who knows where we’d be. From the start, all I’ve wanted was to hopefully be an asset to the university. I still do! But right now, if feels like I’m a revolutionary against whatever they’re planning. All this because I combined my talents with my love and passion for UL and the Acadiana community.
3) And the article that I mentioned on here and twitter that was a part of my final push for phase 2 got axed at the last minute. It was done and ready to go after initial approval and then suddenly there was a change from management. That piece could have turned the tide against naysayers. I'm not trying to conjure conspiracy but I just wanted to keep y'all updated. It was very bad timing for Al supporters, and very disappointing for me personally. That article would have helped most of the confused fans understand exactly what the goals of the campaign are. This would have primarily helped the FB crowd who are against Al solely because they don't fully get what is ACTUALLY being proposed.
In retrospect, I should have said more on FB. My goal was to let any naysayer find an appreciation for the campaign organically, rather than any challenge from their beliefs or opinions on the character. I'm not saying I should have debated anyone, but I realize that I should have let the fans on that platform know me as much as you guys do. This poll shows just how powerful knowledge on the character and the creator can be.
I'm not stopping creating Al content because UL is my passion, that's why Albineaux is my passion. And by sharing my passion, I'm seeing other passionate UL fans also make Albineaux their passion.