Fall 2025 PR Capstone Team Fights Censorship in San Diego
Spearheading local efforts to defend the right to read shaped the fall 2025 capstone campaign for 11 public relations seniors at San Diego State University. The team worked with Library Foundation SD to promote Banned Books Week and join the fight against censorship with San Diego public libraries.
The seniors moved at lightning speed to execute a semester-long campaign that reached young adults across the region and strengthened their career readiness. While growing comfortable with the demands of capstone, they grew as practitioners together.
“Capstone gives students real-world experience to hit the ground running and enter the world of PR confidently,” said capstone professor Dr. Kaye Sweetser APR+M, Fellow PRSA.
Pre-campaign research showed that young adults believed they knew about banned books yet did not have specific knowledge about the issue. Those findings guided tactics for clarity and action throughout the semester.
The seniors quickly became familiar with each other’s strengths, working in tandem to achieve quick turnarounds of campaign materials.
“I learned how to be solution-oriented,” said Elyssa Mclendon. “In PR, there is no time to waste when things take a turn. This class sharpened my skills in a way that will translate into the real world.”
To highlight how censorship reaches everyday spaces, the team placed 74 banned or challenged titles in Little Free Libraries across 11 San Diego neighborhoods. During Banned Books Week they engaged residents at the La Jolla Open Aire Farmers Market, reaching 152 individuals.
Earned media coverage from ABC 10, The San Diego Sun, Times of San Diego and The Daily Aztec expanded public attention on censorship and encouraged residents to support open access to books.
“I’m proud of our coverage and how we increased engagement for Library Foundation SD,” said Brigitte Morgan. “Alongside our social media metrics, this showed our involvement in a space broader than SDSU.”
Digital tactics strengthened outreach by raising engagement on Library Foundation SD’s Instagram page with likes up 412%, shares up 615%, comments up 1,200%, reposts up 550% and 44 new followers after the campaign. On their TikTok, likes rose 677%, shares 63%, comments 267% and favorites 1,067%, with 20 new followers. The team also found that 33.7% of the Instagram audience was in the target age group on their posts, compared to 14.9% for other content on the foundation’s Instagram.
The PR team developed an advocacy digital toolkit to help young adults contact elected officials, understand how book bans happen and take clear steps to protect access to diverse stories. The webpage gave readers the opportunity to email lawmakers and school districts.
The team banded together to channel their strengths and experience until the end. The PR capstone was the culmination of their time at SDSU.
“It has been vital throughout the class to be able to rely on each other. For me, this has meant showing up for my teammates and the client the best I can. It’s not only about making the deadlines but being prepared with work my team would be proud of,” said Lulana Harrison.
Learn More about the Team
The fall 2025 PR capstone team consisted of Evelyn Dowd, Eryn Carmon, Maya Anderson, Sofia Legreca, Elyssa Mclendon, Jennifer Luu, Julia Campbell, Allie Amorde, Ian Peyghambary, Brigitte Morgan and Lulana Harrison. Join the fight against censorship and learn more at the team's Advocacy Digital Toolkit.
