The Daily Cougar

Issue date: 5/29/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Cougar file photo Graduate Senator Tim O'Brien discusses criticism of the Student Government Association and The Daily Cougar's coverage of fair-trade coffee levied by Songhai News, an independent, black collegiate newspaper at the University.

A representative of Mobile Campus, a company that provides mass text-messaging capabilities to colleges and universities, said their services provide a fast and efficient means for communicating to the student body at large.

"It's a means of notifying students at the earliest possible time," Mobile Campus representative Clayton Stewart said at the SGA's final spring semester meeting on May 2.

Stewart said the services, which are free to students, could be used to receive coupons or special offers from local businesses, by groups to alert members to events or developments or for use by the University to alert the campus during emergencies.

Mobile Campus has seen a marked increase in interested schools following the Virginia Tech shootings, Stewart said, and in light of those events when a school signs on with the company the system can be functioning within 30 days. Students may sign up for the emergency messaging only, though currently normal text-messaging fees still apply, Stewart said.

"This allows the ability for you to stay in touch with what's important to you," Stewart said.

Mobile Campus' service is free to students because local companies pay to have coupons or offers of monetary value, no more than two per day, sent to students in the system.

Following the meeting SGA President David Rosen said the organization is looking carefully at the program.

"I don't want to sign constituents up to get spam to their cell phone," Rosen said.

SGA Regent Judah Johns said the capabilities for the system to be used during emergencies were the most important.

"The alerts are something that became a priority after Virginia Tech," he said, adding that Mobile Campus shoulders the costs of implementing and maintaining the system. "The cost to the University is supposed to be zero."

The SGA also voted to approve Vice President Samuel Dike's more than 100 student appointments to University committees, including the Student Fee Advisory Committee the Emergency Planning Committee, the Food Services Advisory Committee, Student Traffic Court and advisory and policy committees. Dike said the bodies must work to control higher education costs.

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