ASUP Executive Board selected digital signs for advertising as Capital Improvements Fund project for this semester
By Hannah Gray
ASUP has tentatively nailed down its capital improvements project to digital signs for this semester.
They will replace posters and other forms of advertisements around campus, such as advertisements for club events.
The ASUP Senate narrowed a list of capital improvements down to five items, and the ASUP Executive Board decided digital signs were the best option.
"I think it is something that the school needs," said ASUP vice president senior Alyssa Schmidt-Carr. "We need to be technologically up to par with other institutions."
The ASUP executive board has allocated $12,000 to spend on the televisions to display the advertisements, and $9,000 for the software.
ASUP tentatively plans to purchase 12 televisions - one for each dorm, The Commons, The Cove, The Anchor, Franz Hall, Shiley Hall and possibly the library, according to ASUP treasurer Steve Waters, a senior.
Waters originally got the idea of digital signs in a meeting with Fr. John Donato, C.S.C.
"I was like 'that is the coolest idea I've heard in a long time,'" Waters said.
Ultimately, the Executive Board chose the digital signs because of environmental interests, a hope for better communication among students and financial concerns about ADvantage, UP's student-run promotional agency.
Although the regular bulletin boards around campus, such as the ones in The Commons, will still be available for people who want to post flyers, the sidewalk signs outside The Cove and Franz Hall will be gone once the digital signs are up, according to Schmidt-Carr.
The ADvantage workers - who make posters, flyers and table tents for various groups around campus - work a lot of hours, according to Waters.
Overtime costs for those student workers made the alternative of digital signs an attractive option to ASUP.
"Initially, it was part of a hope to pay them less," Waters said about the ADvantage workers.
The digital signs will cut down on working hours, such as the time to print and hang up the signs.
Another concern that led ASUP to consider digital signs is an inefficient printer.
"The printer breaks down a lot," Schmidt-Carr said. "This is just a cost efficient way."
ASUP executives also see digital signs as a way to students, especially off-campus students, Schmidt-Carr said.
"Off-campus students have been wanting another form of communication," Schmidt-Carr said. "And a big bulletin board of posters and flyers isn't something someone is going to go up and read."
Schmidt-Carr also noted that the digital signs affect all students, whereas some of the other capital improvements they considered benefitted fewer students.
"It's a new way to get events out, and we hope students will pay attention," Schmidt-Carr said.
ASUP favors the digital signs for sustainable concerns, as well. The signs will cut down on paper and printing ink.
However, some people believe that the sustainability aspect is misleading.
"It's funny because we are trying to be sustainable, but I think we're taking one step forward and two steps back," said Katie Scally, a junior, ASUP senator and vice president-elect.
Scally said that television screens consume a lot of energy, which leads her to worry about a possible unnecessary increase in energy consumption.
"I definitely like the idea that it is going paperless, but that doesn't mean that it is best," Scally said. "It's going to be cheaper for students, which is good, but what about the energy cost that will come out of our tuition?"
Scally also noted that televisions are not nationally regulated for energy use and do not have a limit to their energy consumption.
Another area of concern is the repair of the televisions.
"Have we talked to Residence Life about the damages to the TVs in terms of it being in an open student lounge?" said Colin Dorwart, a junior, ASUP senator and president-elect, about a concern of having televisions in an open and unsecured area.
However, if the digital signs turn out to be unfeasible economically, ASUP plans to allocate a portion of the funds to self-standing water-bottle filling stations and another portion to new automobiles for the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership.
Schmidt-Carr added that the project could be more expensive than ASUP has budgeted.
"It's not anything that will happen before the school year is over," Waters said.
