{"323601":{"#nid":"323601","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"MARTA needs a mascot, says MCRP student Cary Bearn","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECary Bearn, a current MCRP graduate student, believes that MARTA could benefit greatly from adopting a mascot. \u201cMARTA has the opportunity to further enthuse the Atlanta region by crowdsourcing this silliness.\u0026nbsp; Getting folks involved in designing a mascot and simultaneously gets people involved in MARTA,\u201d she writes. She compares MARTA\u2019s continued clash of supporters and naysayers to conflicting feelings different groups have for major sports teams, and notes that a MARTA mascot could serve as the basis for a graphic campaign that would garner support for the Atlanta transit system. \u201cWe all know MARTA needs its fans,\u201d Bearn writes. \u201cIt is high time that the mascot extend beyond the world of schools and sports and into the realm of transit. Transit has long needed a mascot and MARTA, given the frustration so many users and non-users feel with the service, is the perfect institution to usher in such a being.\u0026nbsp; Bring on the silliness.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"28044","created_gmt":"2014-09-10 12:40:50","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:27:14","author":"Jessie Brandon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"maritime","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/saportareport.com\/leadership\/transit\/2014\/08\/11\/marta-needs-mascot\/","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1224","name":"School of City \u0026 Regional Planning"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"102671","name":"bearn"},{"id":"1243","name":"MARTA"},{"id":"102661","name":"mascot"},{"id":"169012","name":"student article"},{"id":"488","name":"transit"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}