Gripes about campus aren't just for Yik Yak anymore.
Student Government has come out with a new program to allow students to directly air complaints about things around campus directly to SG representatives. This program, Carolina Concerns, could be the missing link between students that have a problem and an administrator that can find solutions to those problems, if you're lucky enough to hear about the new initiative.
While the program just launched, there has been very little advertising to let students know that their complaints have a new home. Other than tweets from Student Body President Lindsay Richardson and a link on the SG web page.
There are 32,000 student that go to the University of South Carolina, and Richardson has 1,229 Twitter followers. We are a big university and there needs to be big advertising to make this project worthwhile. If not all students are aware of this program then the results will not have the intended scale.
We think this program can be a big success. There are of course problems that could arise through anonymity and students not using the program correctly, or if the system loses momentum. There are plenty of resources on campus that go unused because students don't understand what they are, or think there will be any results.
Whether it be a mass email, some fliers or even a big twitter campaign, SG needs to get the word out to students. These types of services need to get a lot of attention to not only start strong but to make Carolina Concerns a normal part of student life.
The biggest hope students can have for a student government is that they are reflecting the voice of the student body. This function cannot be served if only a fragment of the student body is aware of what SG is trying to accomplish.