Have you heard of the new forbidden word on campus? No, it doesn't start with an "F" or an "S." It does, however, start with a "C" — no, not that "C." I will give you a clue, it is what they have categorized Long Beach State as, and we have even been suspects of calling our campus that. Yes, it's: commuter. These days, CSULB'S priority is changing our campus from a commuter school to a community; and as generic as it may sound, this is an effort that is going to involve all of us — students and faculty.
The problem with clubs and fraternities as a de-commuting tool for our campus is that we are just taking a bunch of students from one clique to another clique. The question is: what happens to the guy who does not have enough time to commit to a club? Or the girl who doesn't get picked by any of the sororities she wanted to pledge?
At this time last year, it would have been easy to conclude that CSULB is doing nothing to fix this. If you make a statement like that this year, there is a sure sign that you are not taking advantage of the opportunities our campus offers.
Within the past year, we have had more students staying on campus because of the Student Health Wellness and Recreation Center (SRWC). We had about 2,800 students attend Smorgasport this year, and we sold-out our school catalogues this semester, and it's only October! These are mere examples of students not just visiting their campus, but rather staying and enjoying it. Our next step must be creating interaction among students.
This semester, ASI introduced OrgSync for organizations and students to sign up and use as an easy interactive tool. At first glance it seems as though this service is only for organizations on campus, but OrgSync is more than that. OrgSync helps manage campus organizations; it will help create a sense of community at CSULB because it helps facilitate faster and easier communication between universities and their students and staff.
OrgSync isn't the only way new interactions have started on campus. Student Jonathan Amar approached Zaarly nearly a month ago, asking the start-up company how he could help create a marketplace for CSULB. According to the Zaarly site, "Zaarly helps you buy and sell things with people around you. People need a simple way to get what they want from people around them…Zaarly puts buyers at the center of transactions by allowing them to make requests for the things they need from people in their own communities."
Zaarly began their university marketplaces nearly three months ago, and are calling it ZaarlyU. They started with 20 pilot schools; and within the past month, we are the first secondary school to get approved by Zaarly.
What does this mean for you? When you are unable to get a textbook, food, clean your room, clean your car, need a ride, or need a pair of shoes, just Zaarly for it and your fellow student close by will help fulfill that service. Zaarly essentially makes anyone in your community your personal assistant. And if you have the goods or service that someone wants, think of the money you could be making.
Zaarly is redefining the marketplace both on our campus and throughout the country. Students should sign up with their newest school email address, which is firstname.lastname@student.csulb.edu. Although students are emphasized in ZaarlyU, it is not only limited to students, as faculty can use it as well.
The main point is that some of the social changes we have been yearning for cannot happen without students thinking in an innovative manner on how they, too, can help unite our campus, as well as supporting the innovative ideas that have been welcomed on campus like OrgSync and Zaarly.
Uzo Umeh is a senior communications studies major and a contributing writer for the Daily 49er.
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