A new way to stay involved: Facebook Campus
Staying up to date on events as a college student can be a daunting experience. The myriad of emails, Instagram posts and flyers add up quickly, leaving many students switching between platforms to keep informed.
What if there was a way to stay involved through one app?
Facebook Campus, a section of Facebook launched in November 2020, provides a single space for the whole college experience. Through its array of features, students can stay up to date, find peers with similar interests, get involved with clubs and contact their classmates.
Utah State University adopted the Campus program this September, becoming one of 204 universities utilizing the program. Now Aggies have access to all Campus has to offer.
To join the Utah State University campus community, students can tap the Campus icon found under the menu section of their Facebook profile. All students need to start is their school email.
According to Kaylee Slusser, the program manager for Facebook Campus, campus has a few key aspects.
Campus’ main feature is its campus-only news feed. Through the newsfeed, students can get updates on events and fellow classmates. In addition, students can create study groups, plan virtual concerts and ask for advice with college-only groups and events.
Through Campus, clubs and organizations can publicize events and even recruit new members.
“Organizations can create groups on Facebook Campus open to the student community,” Slussler said. “These can be either private or public groups where they can recruit new members, organize and promote events, and generally get the word out in a space that is specific to their school.”
Drew Thorngren, the HURD director of operations, is especially excited for the new Campus program. He hopes to use it in an effort to inform and recruit students for the various organizations he is involved in.
“I think this is a great tool to be able to see what other people are involved in and being able to reach out to them and get them involved,” Thorngren said.
The second key feature of Campus is the directory. Here, students can find out more information about their classmates and connect with peers with similar interests.
“Like in the early days when Facebook was a college-only network, students can find classmates by class, major, year and more,” Kessler said.
With the pandemic and prevalence of Zoom or online classes this year, the directory feature is more relevant than ever.
According to Reagan Harrison, a freshman studying journalism, the directory will be helpful with class projects in some of her Zoom classes.
“I haven’t met these people in real life and so it’s hard when we have to communicate because it’s all through email,” Harrison said, “I feel like Campus would be an easier way because people can get a hold of each other easily.”
The directory feature will also be helpful for students looking to meet peers with similar interests. Students will be able to search for other students in the same major as well as other commonalities.
Coming into another school year, Facebook Campus will provide an important tool for students, helping them connect to campus on a newer, deeper level.