On Dec. 4, neighbor school Emerson College will rename its communication school the Ron Burgundy School of Communication for one day in order to welcome Will Ferrell as his character from the Anchorman movie series.

While it is commonplace for universities to bring in public speakers, Ferrell coming as Burgundy solidifies this as nothing but a publicity stunt to promote the new Anchorman 2 movie coming out. For Emerson, this is a shameless attempt to get some cheap publicity from local media outlets. It is likely an expensive public relations move by the college to make people forget about student Sarah Tedesco’s piece that broke on the Huffington Post back on Oct. 8.

Tedesco explained how Emerson told her “not to make a big deal” of her claim about being sexually assaulted by a fellow student and did nothing to help her when she claimed she was assaulted once again by the very same alleged assailant. Emerson President M. Lee Pelton did vow in a university-wide email that the school will “do better,” regarding related cases in the future and did necessary damage control after Tedesco’s article ran last month.

While damage control was necessary, it is not hard for the public to understand that is exactly what Pelton is doing. With Ferrell, he provides the student body and the Boston public with a witty and popular actor to further his attempts of damage control. Ferrell will come as Burgundy, giving Emerson students something to get excited about as the fall semester comes to a close. It also pretty much guarantees media coverage from outlets ranging from websites like BostInno to local news broadcasts as well as the Boston Globe and Herald.

Ferrell’s booking agency, Celebrity Talent International, lists his minimum fee at $250,000 to $350,000 for events in the United States, according to the company’s website. The Journal isn’t sure if Ferrell is charging for his appearance but if he is, that is quite the price tag for a one-day event.

President Pelton said Burgundy “understands the power of media, as well as hairspray, firsthand,” in the school’s press release.

It would appear President Pelton would prefer to spend that kind of money to help get the school some positive publicity instead of hosting a more worthwhile event that its journalism students could actually learn from. This might be being presented to Boston media outlets and Emerson students as a cute, fun event for the college and that isn’t entirely false.
Ferrell will surely be his usual funny self and entertain his audience but it is important to look under the surface here. Ferrell is no cheap commodity. Even if he is promoting a movie of his, he is probably not doing it for free. Even if Ferell did waive his usual fee, his Burgundy character is being used by President Pelton to shamelessly grab headlines during a semester that Emerson has been on the wrong side of many. Emerson is hoping that the laughs Ferrell will bring will make people forget about Tedesco’s article that ran just more than a month ago.