With student council elections, first club meetings, and textbook sales contributing to this month’s fliering flurry, an electronic alternative is in the works.
As early as October, student groups will be able to advertise their events in at least eight residence halls on flat-screen televisions, which will scroll thorough a mix of campus news, health reminders and club announcements.
Scott Wright, vice president of student and administrative services, said that the televisions will be installed in Furnald, John Jay, River, and Watt in the next month, and the ads will be displayed on the already-installed TVs in Carman, Ruggles, Broadway, and Wien as well.
Louis Smith, CC ’13 and EcoReps co-coordinator, called the electronic alternative “a step in the right direction.”
“We would love to get to use them. It would make our job a lot easier because recycled cardboard flyers take a while to make,” he said.
The effort to revamp club advertising began two years ago, when Learned Foote, who would become Columbia College Student Council president in 2010, worked with student services to establish a “grid system” on bulletin boards to reduce excessive fliering. But those guidelines were largely ignored.
Right now, “Clubs aren’t penalized for putting their flyers in non-designated areas. Sometimes they put 10 on one board,” Smith said.
Wright, who spearheaded the initiative with Joyce Jackson, executive director of housing services, said that the televisions will be placed in high-visibility locations near elevators. He emphasized that there will be no charge for the advertising, and that he plans to meet with the Student Housing Advisory Board soon to establish specific parameters for the announcements.
Students, including Mary Joseph, CC ’15, said they were cautiously optimistic about the plan. Joseph recalled a similar initiative that was effective in her high school, though she wasn’t convinced it would translate to Columbia.
She predicted that the screens may be useful to clubs, but won’t necessarily become the environmentally friendly solution to the hundreds of fliers posted all over campus.
“Just because you make a Facebook page to advertise doesn’t necessarily mean you print out less fliers,” Joseph said.
Loxley Bennett, CC ’15, agreed. “I think that I would use it as another way to advertise, but still put the same amount of fliers out,” she said.
Jackson said that they will seek student feedback in the coming months, and make changes to the advertising system if needed.
news@columbiaspectator.com
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy