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'Ellen DeGeneres'
Christopher Curry/ TheTowerlight
Fans came to the West Village Commons area Wednesday as instructed by television personality Ellen DeGeneres. DeGeneres Tweeted for
fans to show up as book characters, then spoke via satellite feed, saying those in costume had a chance to win $5,000 to Barnes & Noble.
Towson featured on
Talk show star Tweets to attract fans
ALISSA KATZ
Senior Editor
Comedian and TV host Ellen
DeGeneres likes to play games with
her fans, namely through means of
social networking.
On Tuesday, Oct. 11, DeGeneres
started Tweeting to her followers,
telling them something big was going
to happen at Towson University
Wednesday at 7 p.m.
"Ellen loves Twitter," Jeannie
Klisiewicz, DeGeneres’s receptionist
and on-air correspondent said. "She
loves giving challenges."
One of producers of "The Ellen
DeGeneres Show,” Aaron Pinkston, is
from Maryland and has friends who
attend Towson University, according
to Gay Pinder, media relations spe¬
cialist for Towson University.
"He suggested to Ellen that she
might want to come to Towson and
she loved idea," Pinder said.
Word spread quickly through
Twitter and other social networking
avenues like Facebook.
"I first found out on Facebook,
then it was advertised on Twitter,"
junior Nicole Pacifico said. “So we
just kept up on Twitter all day long."
Freshman Michael Bell said he did
the same.
"1 was looking at the Tweets all
day trying to figure out what she
was going to say and what she would
make us do," he said.
On Wednesday afternoon, students
and fans of DeGeneres found out a
few more details. DeGeneres Tweeted
that everyone should show up to the
West Village Commons with a copy of
her book and dressed as a fictional
book character. No other details were
revealed at that time.
More than 300 people filled the
Commons area by 5 p.m. to find
out what DeGeneres would tell her
fans next. A majority of attendees
were decked out as various fictional
characters, including Winnie the
Pooh, Harry Potter, and the Man in
the Yellow Hat from Curious George,
among others. Pacifico, Bell and
junior John Tune showed up as the
Three Blind Mice.
Junior mass communication major
Ayelet Cohen came to the event
dressed as Raggedy Ann.
"I saw that she Tweeted yesterday
and today," she said. "I just love
Ellen. I’m excited," Cohen said.
Around 7:15 p.m., a camera crew
filmed students and other attend¬
ees for the show, which is set to
air Thursday. That’s also when
DeGeneres presented her something
big — anyone who had a copy of
DeGeneres’s new book, “Seriously...
See SHOW, page 10
The TU Post Office is now selling
Save the Vanishing Species Tiger Stamps.
Proceeds go to support the
Multinational Species Conservation Fund.
