Students never have a shortage of suggestions for how to improve the campus, and with a new online forum in What to Fix UMD, the SGA hopes to make some of them happen.
Launched just two weeks ago as a space for students to raise issues about the university, WTF UMD has gained more than 2,070 likes on Facebook and about 350 followers on Twitter. While many students were quick to embrace the format for lodging complaints, Student Government Association members said they plan to follow through on students’ suggestions, even if they stretch past this semester.
“Responding to everything on the site is really important,” said Ryan Heisinger, academic affairs vice president, who oversees the initiative with SGA President Samantha Zwerling. “We want to show that we really do care about anything a student brings up.”
The program has two parts: Students use social media to bring attention to various issues, from broken elevators and water fountains to campus safety. Then, Heisinger and Zwerling add the issues to a public Google Doc in which students can find details and updates on progress toward a resolution.
Of the 236 issues listed in the document as of last night, the SGA has completed one — helping a student who couldn’t access the Bursar office’s website — and has begun work on more than 50. Members also add updates as they make progress, primarily reporting emails or meetings with the relevant authorities in the administration.
“We were not expecting this much response and feedback from students,” Zwerling said, noting the WTF UMD Facebook page garnered about 1,400 likes in 24 hours. “I think there was an initial frenzy, but it’s definitely slowed down.”
Zwerling assigned each of the tasks to different members of the SGA to oversee, which left some with dozens of issues to handle. But in many cases, Zwerling said, SGA members will partner with other members and officials or even delegate the issues further.
“We have a large organization, and I think delegating a lot of these things and pushing them through the organization is going to make a lot of these things doable,” she said.
Before Aisya Aziz found the new page, she said, she was hesitant to speak up about problems she had with the university. But she was glad to have the forum after having to walk alone late at night several times because the Police Auxiliary wouldn’t pick her up from McKeldin Library and Nite Ride wouldn’t bring her all the way to her apartment, she said.
“Whether or not it will happen, I really don’t know,” Aziz said. “They responded quickly, like they really care and will really do something about it, so I’m pretty optimistic about that.”
The different tasks gain priority based on student interest and effort required, Zwerling said. A number of students echoed concerns about the number of reading days, for example, so that made it to the top of the list.
“[And] if a light is out, [the SGA] can quickly take care of that,” she said.
Some complaints, such as the lack of recycling bins near Comcast Center or bad network connectivity, are already on the administration’s radar. Facilities Management and the Division of Information Technology, respectively, are working to address those issues, officials said.
Because of the program’s popularity and the volume of response, Heisinger said, it would be helpful to assign a single point person to take ownership of WTF UMD and dedicate all of his or her SGA time to the online forum.
And though the response has slowed, Zwerling said the SGA plans to use physical marketing, such as fliers and handouts, to keep up momentum and interest.
“It does have 1,400 likes on Facebook, which is awesome,” Zwerling said last week. “But there are 27,000 undergraduates on campus, so we’re definitely not hitting all areas.”
