In the dark days of winter, when students, new and old, have settled into their academic schedules, many crave human connection to pass time. A possible solution? Engage in the school community.
Unfortunately, not all students are up to date with school happenings–a significant reason being their lack of social media, which the Associated Student Body (ASB) often uses to keep the community informed.
“The easiest way for ASB to reach our student body is through Instagram,” senior ASB President Marlee La Madrid said. “We use Instagram to connect to our community, and that isn’t just within our school. We connect to Skyline and Issaquah, and, [with ASB] being the largest platform at Liberty, clubs, sports, students tag us in posts, so we can repost to a larger audience.”
School spirit is greatly impacted by proper communication within the student body.
“[Social media] affects it positively, because when we post about spirit days, we can do funny trends that are current with students,” La Madrid said. “We’re able to connect because it’s familiar to them.”
ASB also works hard to make posters to inform students of events in-school; however, once students are off campus, dates and themes easily slip from their minds.
“Having social media to remind them is an effective way of communicating school events and raising school spirit.” junior Racket Club President Ethan Ng said.
Thus, a lack of socials would be detrimental to spirit, as many students wouldn’t get notified for events. As new students join the school, ASB tries to eliminate possible disconnects with them.
“Not everybody has Instagram, and that’s what we’re trying to combat by posting the same announcements on Canvas. It’s most effective with our younger classes because those tend to be the people with the least amount of social media,” La Madrid said.
Community engagement in other campus activities is greatly affected by students’ lack of socials too.
“Social media definitely plays an important part in getting club attendance up and keeping relevancy. It helps, but is just one part. For Racket Club, it’s mainly mouth-to-ear,” Ng said. “The lack of social media [in the student body] would hurt other clubs that are not as well known.”
“[Social media] helps with advertising, especially with clubs,” La Madrid said. “The only issue we would have is certain clubs posting inappropriate messages. We are working to monitor that.”
Even with the concerns over lack of influence over some students and potentially risky, irresponsible posts, social media continues to play a vital role in school communication.
“We understand that not everybody has Instagram, but [social media] is sustainable when it comes to connecting with the majority of our community,” La Madrid said.