Move over “That’s Why I Chose Yale.” There’s a new feel-good video, entitled “New Haven, CT 06520,” from the Yale Undergraduate Admissions Office as of Thursday afternoon.
Billed as “an introduction to New Haven, one of America’s most exciting and diverse small cities,” according to video’s description, the project was spearheaded by Mark Dunn, a senior assistant director at the admissions office. Dunn was the architect behind the “That’s Why I Chose Yale” video, which has gotten over 1.4 million views as of now.
This is not the first time that the admissions office has promoted New Haven to prospective applicants. As former Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Brenzel told the News in February, the admissions office makes an effort to convey the Elm City’s strengths and attractiveness to applicants, citing the city’s vibrant artistic community and high levels of community service engagement with the University as advantages to New Haven that high school students may not be aware of.
The admissions office began advertising the video through social media at 6pm on Thursday in conjunction with the Yale Office of Public Affairs and Communications, although the video was posted on YouTube earlier in the afternoon on the YaleCampus YouTube account. As of Friday night, “New Haven, CT 06520” has garnered 3,465 views.
“New Haven, CT 06520” features five actors— Becca Liu ’14, Claire Daviss ’14, Catalina Brennan-Gatica ’15, Alonzo Page ’15, and Michael Protacio ’14 — engaging in a number of different pursuits ranging from conducting scientific research to attending a Yale art gallery tour before receiving the same mysterious texts.
As music — an original score by Andrew Johnson ’06 — fitting Mission Impossible begins to play, the five friends sprint from their various activities and scramble to buy foods from Shake Shack, Claire’s Corner Copia, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, and City Seed Farmer’s Market before convening on East Rock for a picnic and a view of New Haven.
The video, which lasts four minutes exactly, was directed by Joshua Jacobs ’15 and produced by Joshua Ackerman ’14 and Spencer Klavan ’14.
