Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: Opinion

Paul Rios

I have three e-mail accounts, which I think makes me a freak.

I can't help it. I'm the kind of guy who likes his mashed potatoes, steak and coleslaw nicely partitioned on the plate, each ready to be shoveled down the hatch in the appropriate order. Same goes for e-mail.

Of course, to a normal person, the idea of having so many accounts might seem a little bizarre. Maybe that's why the reasoning behind a recent decision to encourage use of SacLink e-mail accounts seems so specious.

Starting next year, all official campus communiqués be routed through your SacLink e-mail. Partly, it's an effort to improve the campus' communication channels. It also seems like an attempt to bring some semblance of unity to a scattered system, at least to some degree.

Personally, it's no bother to me and at least a few folks I know. SacLink is already one of my three. It's the e-mail account I use for most of my campus dealings. Listservs, bookstore purchases and e-mails to professors all go through that channel. But for students who have ignored the system, it might feel like MySacState redux. And in that sense, I sympathize.

It's another one of those technological changes that have forced students to keep on their toes, for better or worse. On the one hand, these changes have given us some great perks. We might have to remember some silly username and password, but we've got some pretty sweet computer labs even if it still might be hard to find an open seat on some Tuesday afternoons. The high-tech class rooms are tasty, too- that is, should you be blessed enough to opt for a class that uses them. And yeah, Wi-Fi feels like straight high-speed manna nicked from the personal supply of the Internet gods. Enough about that.

But if we can appreciate some of these changes, it's because mostly we've been able to digest them into the routine of our school lives as we see fit. Other technological "conveniences," like MySacState, have been received with a mixture of resignation, dissatisfaction and confusion. That's because MySacState has replaced familiar and essential aspects of our school lives. And not only our lives, but also the workdays of the faculty and administrators who direct and control our scholastic fate.

Unlike, MySacState though, SacLink has been around for years. Most students have at least some familiarity with the thing. Besides, it's not as if it's really that complex to have your SacLink e-mails forwarded to your personal e-mail account.

The problem is I just don't see how it will help if the goal is to improve communication in the event of an emergency. Really, I don't see it doing much harm either. E-mail will probably be the last thing I'll worry about if a gunman bursts into my morning lecture.

If other incidents are any indication though, the most effective form of emergency communication is obviously the cell phone. E-mail is only a minor aspect of prevention. So long as the campus police and emergency hotlines are ready, I'll feel as safe as one can possibly feel on a college campus. Then again, that might not be saying all that much.

We all like e-mail, some more than others. If I had a dollar for every open Hotmail account I've seen on laptops during class, I'd have enough cash to fund a steady diet of filet mignon. But I can't imagine how forcing students to use their SacLink accounts will improve anything in particular. It just doesn't seem all that necessary. Besides, I thought that our MySacState message box had all our official campus messages covered.

All it means to me is that I'll have to check my e-mail even more often. Then again, I like that inbox ding.

Paul Rios can be reached at prios@statehornet.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools