With a new website integrated with a variety of social networking applications, including Facebook and Twitter, Student Council is kicking off its recruitment period with a plethora of new media tools to reach out to a broader audience.
One feature on the Council website allows constituents to associate a face with the names of Council representatives. Students also can use the tool to ascertain and contact their specific representatives.
"One of my favorite features is the 'Meet Your Representative' function," Council President Colin Hood said. "You can search by school or by name, and it brings up your representative, their picture, biography and office hours."
Hood added that undergraduate Council representatives hold one office hour a week in the Student Council office in Newcomb Hall, but a new feature on the Council website enables users to contact representatives without even leaving their dormitory rooms or physically venturing into Council's office.
"There's a link called 'Chat with StudCo' during office hours," Hood said. "It's a Gmail account, and if you click on it, it starts a Gchat with you and a Student Council representative."
To advance outreach further, Council members are encouraged to blog and update their constituents on any initiative or bill in the works that may be of interest of them. Blog updates are presented on the central feed of the Council website, where people can comment on posts by logging in through Facebook.
And in an effort to increase transparency, all of Council's weekly cabinet meetings are telecast live through StudCo Live - which can be found on its website and Facebook fan page - using technology from a partnership with Ustream. People also can view footage from past meetings and other Council events - such as the student memorial service held this past April. Hood also noted that StudCo Live's comment feature would be beneficial in beginning a dialogue among those who comment through their Facebook accounts.
Similarly, third-year College student Tin Nguyen said in his experience as a peer adviser, he has found that first-year students often have not gotten in the habit of regularly checking their e-mail accounts, so he has used Facebook as his primary means of interacting with them and informing them of events.
"With this new age of digital media, it'll be a more effective way of communicating with students," Nguyen said. "People rely more on these means of communication than more traditional e-mail."
Council Director of University Relations Dan Morrison noted, however, that they are not abandoning traditional media all together. They have had a successful run with print media for recruitment and reaching out to resident advisors, and with their annual Meet Your Council event during the Student Activities Fair.
"The old website had some information, but the new one puts Student Council at their fingertips," Morrison said. "A lot of the committees can easily update their website so students can get a real feel for Student Council."
Morrison added, however, that Council's use of new media is allowing them to focus on a different aspect of Council while facilitating a dialogue with students.
"During the last couple years, we've been tweaking the internal structure, so now we can finally focus on the external and how we interact with students and really open the door," he said.
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