JHU students working to prevent targeted violence, terrorism

(Courtesy Photo)

By AFRO Staff

Twenty-one undergraduate students at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) have teamed up to compete in a marketing competition organized by EdVenture Partners (EVP). The competition, Invent2Prevent, features students from 25 different universities nationwide. All JHU participants are enrolled in Professor Leslie Kendrick’s Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications class, which mirrors the functional organization of an advertising agency. Using an integrated marketing approach, the JHU student agency — known as Hopvertising— will be allocating a $2000 budget to address targeted violence and terrorism. Students are in the research and planning stages of a campaign that calls on its audience to actively prevent terrorism and targeted violence in any form. Their submission will be judged by senior leadership at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

Targeted violence and terrorism are increasingly compromising U.S. national security. These threats can be racially or ethnically motivated, rooted in extremist ideology, or even directly associated with anti-government sentiments. The pandemic has engendered a state of isolation that more easily foments violence. Hopvertising is concerned about the rapid mobilization of targeted violence and terrorism, particularly within this altered social environment. The agency hopes to actively prevent this threat, by inspiring attitudinal and behavior change. Moreover, the campaign will seek ways to mitigate the root causes of targeted violence and terrorism.