Student government to give prizes for opinions
An iPad, iPad mini and flat-screen TV are incentives for students to participate in USU/SA’s myVoice campaign Nov. 4-8.
The campaign is meant to encourage students to get in the habit of using the myVoice feature in communicating with the university when they encounter problems, according to USU student association president Doug Fiefia.
There will be activities throughout the day on campus as well as a prize drawing for students who submit suggestions during the days of the campaign. Officers said they hope communication will continue through the site even after the campaign is over.
“The myVoice feature is a really neat opportunity for students to have a say,” said Casey Saxton, USU/SA public relations and marketing director. “We really encourage them to use it. Hopefully after seeing student leaders advocating on their behalf, they will use that for the rest of their time at Utah State.”
James Morales, vice president of student services, said this program gets to the heart of an issue all administrators face: identifying the needs of students.
“There’s no way that I can possibly know all of the concerns that these 30,000 students have,” Morales said. “Now we have the tools to tap into what our student body is concerned about.”
Daryn Frischknecht, the student advocate vice president, said one objective the website has is to make it easier for students to let leaders know what issues they’re having without physically coming to an office to talk.
“I would still love for students to come into my office and voice their concerns face-to-face, but I can’t expect that from students,” Frischknecht said. “I plan on doing the exact same things this way as I would if a student came into my office. I’m looking at all the concerns the exact same.”
Morales said the online system could also help with reporting issues that often get overlooked.
“For example, a student sitting at home (on campus) at night working on homework, and the wifi keeps dropping them,” Morales said. “They can report it right then instead of waiting until the next day when they might forget about it.”
Morales said he has supported the idea from the beginning. He said he has asked USU/SA officers for copies of emails received through the site so he can be aware of all the issues. He said he values the students’ opinions.
“The most important thing I want students to know is that this is their vehicle for communicating,” Morales said. “We will read these emails. This matters to us, and action will happen in positive ways if they utilize this. If they don’t use it, then things can’t change.”
Fiefia said all concerns are important to the officers, but he asks for patience from students waiting for answers.
“I think just with this campaign going on and the amount of concerns and suggestions we will be seeing, it will take some time to get through all of them,” Fiefia said. “We will read through all of them and make sure everyone’s concerns and suggestions are resolved. Just please, please, please be patient with us.”
Fiefia said the site is a resource for a variety of students.
“It’s a way for them to come to us if they have an issue and don’t know how to approach it, or if they’ve already approached their professors, deans or administrators and don’t feel like they’ve gotten results,” Fiefia said.
Morales said he and his staff are ready and willing to work with these student leaders to improve the university and the experience for students at USU.
“My division is ready,” Morales said. “I hope that across campus others are also ready and willing to do that.”
-m.noble@aggiemail.usu.edu