SA renovates website to increase transparency

By Anita Alem     10/21/13 7:00pm

The Student Association unveiled its renovated website Oct. 7, according to SA President Yoonjin Min.

 "We've been thinking a lot about how to be more transparent and more accessible this year, and we feel that a website, if it's done correctly, is a great resource for people," Min, a Jones College senior, said. "We didn't feel that our previous website had those capabilities."

The new website, still located at sa.rice.edu, features the SA's current projects, its members and ways of getting involved, as well as event promotions and Vines. 

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The site also provides direct ways for students to offer their opinions and concerns via an online forum. A new Gantt Project Tracker allows students to see the progress on the SA's different ventures.

External Vice President Ravi Sheth said he worked extensively on renovating the site and that his goal in creating the site was to benefit the student body as much as possible.

"We feel that the website is now a great way to communicate and spread information to the undergraduate body," Sheth, a Martel College junior, said. "We would certainly appreciate any input to improve in that regard."

The site also provides a new online petition system. According to the site, the SA will guarantee a written response from an appropriate Rice University administrator if any petition gets at least 250 student signatures.

Min said the creation of the petition system was sparked partly by the response to the parking petition started by Duncan College junior Laurel Bingman earlier this year. 

"[The parking petition] was a really good way students were showing what they were passionate about," Min said. "However, students were sending it to their friends via Facebook, and it didn't reach as many students as it could have. Since [the SA is] a centralized group on campus, we can use our reach to involve more students [in the petition process]."

Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson said petitions have not been necessary in the past because students with concerns have always been able to access administrators such as himself and President David Leebron.

"My reaction is that this is neither good nor bad, but unnecessary," Hutchinson said. "It's not necessary to go through the difficulty of the petition process to be heard .... There are maybe more efficient ways to communicate. I don't know what would motivate the start of a petition as opposed to a normal communication process."

Hutchinson said he encourages interaction from students via email and emphasized that there are many avenues for their voices. He said it may be easier for students to approach him or the SA directly with their concerns, as opposed to filling out a petition.

"Even if I get a petition from 250 students, my response will be 'How do other students feel about this?' because 250 students is less than 10 percent of the student body," Hutchinson said. "The SA is a centralized view of the student body, and that's why it is a more effective communication vehicle."

Brown College sophomore Eric Yin said he did not know about the new SA website or the petition system. 

"I've never really looked for the SA website," Yin said. "There's been no reason for me to, and I never really hear about the effects of the SA in daily life. [The petition system] sounds like something that if I knew about previously, I would use."

According to Min, the goal of the petition system is not to increase the number of petitions the administration receives, but to provide students with another avenue for advocacy.

"If a lot of students want to [advocate through] petitions, that's awesome," Min said. "And if it doesn't really take off and we only see petitions once a semester, that's fine, too. It's really about giving students the ability to say that they care about something or they find issue with something and being able to put it down and communicate it to the student body and the administration."

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