One of the best things that comes from being passionate about a subject is having others with whom to share that zeal. So if you’re an SCU enthusiast—and who isn’t?—you can now join 6,000+ other fans in reading about events, swapping stories, giving advice, and commenting on everything from who makes the best local milkshake to where to buy a campus parking permit.
The official SCU Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ SantaClaraUniversity) was started by Lauren Michalski ’07, who handed it over to the Office of Marketing and Communications in April. This summer, it quickly evolved into a thriving community where thousands of alumni, students, and parents connect online. SCU Communications Director Deepa Arora and student interns maintain the page, posting info about on- and off-campus events, newsworthy articles, and engaging polls aimed at current undergrads and grad students, as well as alumni. Polls ranging from “What are you reading this summer?” to “What’s the best advice you have for recent graduates?” seem to garner the most responses. One such survey aimed at alumni—“Who was your favorite professor?”—amassed two dozen revealing answers within a few hours, among them this reply from Joseph Kirrene ’95 about English Professor Theodore Rynes, S.J., who received the most votes: “I never got an A in any of his classes, because I didn’t earn it, but I learned a lot. He was always a good and understanding person who didn’t dwell on your mistakes but encouraged your growth.”
This fall, with the countdown to classes beginning, SCU students posted 21 days’ worth of must-do activities for incoming freshmen. SCU’s Facebook page is also a way for students to cut through some of the red tape when needing speedy answers to simple questions: One inbound freshman asked when he should start to buy books for the upcoming quarter and was met with instant advice and a link to the bookstore.
Visit www.scu.edu/ communities to see other Santa Clara fan pages (including this magazine, naturally) and SCU groups on social networking sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Flickr.