Student Activities Committee utilizes social media

By Alexi Lund

Cardinal Staff

The Student Activities Committee (SAC) of Saint Mary’s University (SMU) is taking steps towards increasing their social media presence on campus with a goal to engage more students in activities that are happening frequently around campus, according to Director of Student Activities Lance Thompson.

As technology advances, groups like SAC are constantly thinking of new ways to advertise and promote events on campus. There will always be ways to utilize flyers and posters that are spread throughout campus, but Thompson thought that SAC needed to be more serious about this opportunity to promote events through social media.

This year, SAC created a new position on their e-board to specifically manage social media for activities and events. The main social media outlets that SAC is present and active on are Facebook and Twitter, where they post daily messages about what is happening around campus. SMU students are encouraged to follow them on Twitter or like their Facebook page.

SAC hosted an event with the mobile device app “OHHLALA” at the beginning of the year, said Thompson. This was a success for being the first time SAC has used this technology at SMU. “I think this will be a useful tool in the future,” said Thompson. “The company is just starting out so we are all learning right now.”

SMU senior Carissa Hahn, who is responsible for SAC’s social media, said, “I really hope to increase our presence on Facebook and Twitter because I want these pages to be the places students go to see what is happening around campus.”

Hahn has started implementing a social media calendar for her personal use to ensure more frequent and up-to-date posts are available to students. “I am working on publicizing SAC’s Facebook and Twitter accounts around campus because I do not know if many students are even aware of them,” said Hahn.

Hahn said one of her biggest challenges has been being able to stay on top of it. “There is always something to be posted about, there can easily be more than one post a day,” said Hahn.

SAC’s increased presence on these social media pages is very beneficial for students. “I think this transition will be a very positive thing,” said Hahn. “Most students are busy and use their phones or laptops a lot, which is why using Facebook and Twitter to find out about events on campus can become very convenient.”