The End of the Y-stud

Every day, hundreds of students across Wilf Campus attend Shacharit, Mincha and Ma’ariv minyanim (morning, afternoon, and evening prayer services) in different locations without fail. No emails are sent out advertising the 8:10 AM Morg Beis Shacharit or the 7:45 AM Sephardic Shacharit. Everyone just knows to show up, using an easy-to-use, comprehensive website, YUZmanim.com.

Let’s do the same for the wide array of events held each and every day on both the Wilf and Beren Campuses. Tens, sometimes hundreds of times a day, exclamation points and offers for free pizza storm our inboxes in the form of “ystuds” or “ystuds” or other mass emails (or “studs”). Cheesy subject lines attempt to catch our attention, to draw us to The Event that Will Change Your Life. But despite the merciless barrage of studs it is clear that this marketing method is proving unsuccessful. Students are becoming sick of the constant emailing. Many eventually ignore their YU emails and come to despise the very idea of becoming involved on campus in any way, shape, or form. The emailing method turns potentially active students into apathetic ones, and this is reflected in the poor attendance at many YU events.

[caption id="attachment_961" align="alignright" width="300" caption="A typical ystud"][/caption]

The way we receive news and information is ever changing. The studs are a thing of the past, and it’s time to create a new system where students can discover YU happenings that are of interest to them: YUWhatsOn.com. Much like YUZmanim, the site will detail the where,when, and what of upcoming events.The organizer of each event will be able to upload blurbs describing the event and provide the presenter’s contact information. The site will also feature a comments function, through which event attendees will be able to provide useful feedback to the organizers, the Student Councils, and the students who might consider attending similar events in the future. This function will help students and club heads alike, as students will be able to become more involved in clubs that appeal to them, and club heads will be able to foster a stronger relationship with students interested in their club.

YUWhatsOn.com cannot revitalize student life at YU all on its own. To the already-interested YU student, the site will provide a forum to search for appealing clubs and interesting events, but the apathetic student can still ignore the site entirely. An unwilling student may never visit the site at all. An argument can even be made that studs should stick around to force event information upon the lackadaisical student. It is for this reason that the site must be appealing, creating excitement about upcoming events. If it becomes the sole resource for discovering happenings on campus, students will feel more compelled to check it on a regular basis. Yes, signs will still be posted throughout the lounges, but how often do students stop and internalize the details of an event posted on a flyer? We are constantly on the move, and YUWhatsOn.com will provide us with event information wherever we find ourselves.

In order to create this attractive one-stop shop for event information, I am seeking your help. The domain name is in place, and the creation of the site is now underway. To join me in this much-needed endeavor, please email me at zach.mammon@gmail.com. Thank you.