OPINION | Students: Take initiative to communicate

Students should be more accountable for the information that administrators send to them.

Focusing on information that administrators circulate at the beginning of each semester is critical because every year there are important new policies that students should know.

Administrators utilize many tools to try and open lines of communication for students, including email, the Butler Connection, and mail.

According to Sally Click, dean of student services, email is the official form of communication between the two factions.

Email is also a good choice among some students.

When  junior Sam Foust was asked which form of communication he finds most effective, he said, “Email, because at least I can see the head line of it. So I can at least get an idea of what it’s about.”

Every year, administrators send out the “Know the Code” email, which provides students with a link to the handbook.

Click said this year only 48 percent of students opened this email.

Only 2 percent of students who opened this message went to the handbook link or visited the student conduct website.

Some might say they receive too many emails on a daily basis, and reading them all is tedious.

Still, the load of emails isn’t an excuse for not knowing the rules.

Students might also point out that administrators are not faultless in this matter.

For instance, administrators could have marked the “Know the Code” emails with the red exclamation point to let students know that the content of this email is important.

Although administrators could do things a little differently, it isn’t their job to spoon-feed information to each student.

Ultimately, students need to meet administrators half-way to better communicate.

Students should be proactive in obtaining the information they need to know.

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