By Beth Shiller
To keep in better touch with students, some of Youngstown State University’s colleges are logging into Facebook.
Bryan DePoy, dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts, said it’s an effective approach since most college students use Facebook daily.
“Our primary goal of using Facebook is to utilize a relevant and tested means to reach a broad audience regarding our college’s activities and news,” DePoy said.
Justin Edwards, an adviser who helps manage the College of Fine and Performing Arts’ Facebook page, said Facebook goes beyond providing updates like a digital bulletin board.
“We feel that this outlet is important to give students an online community to feel more connected to the college,” Edwards said. “We also use the Facebook page to share upcoming information about performances and connect with alumni.”
Facebook has become so prominent that a department within the College of Fine and Performing Arts has even made it part of the curriculum.
“We recently added a social media campaigns minor in our communication department to help students understand how to use Facebook as a marketing and communication tool,” Edwards said.
The minor teaches students how to maximize their presence on social media and strategize about how to use it effectively.
Martin Abraham, dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, said Facebook is an important tool the college uses to reach students.
“How else does one communicate in the modern society?” Abraham asked. But not every YSU student wants to be so connected to the university.
Junior Tricia Day said she doesn’t want to mix her “personal life with her school life,” while senior John Monroe said he doesn’t check Facebook “often enough for it to be reliable.”
However, Cary Horvath, associate dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts, said the college will continue to communicate with the help of Facebook.
“The reason is simple: We need to be where people are,” she said.
