Students this month may be voting on a referendum calling for the purchase of a university SMS code to facilitate communication and information dissemination on the Tufts Medford/Somerville campus.
An SMS code is a shortened telephone number made available to a particular group of people, such as members of Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus, according to senior Michael Vastola, chief operating officer of TuftsLife, which is sponsoring the referendum.
Students will either be able to text the number to receive information — in a way similar to how FindJoey works — or sign up to be part of a group that receives text updates, he said.
"The idea is that you'll be able to get information back just by quickly texting a number," Vastola, who is also a technical manager for the Daily, said.
TuftsLife's proposal would mandate that the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate disburse $20,000 to TuftsLife to fund the purchase of such an SMS short code for a one−year trial period. The system, if adopted permanently, would cost $20,000 annually.
"We want to see if it gets used before we make a commitment," Vastola said.
The referendum includes provisions for the Senate to explore how to continue funding the system if it is deemed a success at the end of the trial period.
Before the referendum can be put to a vote, it must first pass several TCU committees. The Committee on Student Life is currently reviewing it to ensure that it is consistent with university policy and state law, Vastola said. The TCU Judiciary must then approve the language, after which TuftsLife must collect 250 signatures from the student body in order for the proposal to be voted on, he added.
If all of these conditions are met, the referendum will appear on the April 26 presidential election ballot.
A majority of voters, and at least a sixth of the student body, must approve the referendum for it to pass, according to Senator Dan Pasternack, a senior.
"We really hope it passes," Vastola said. "We think it's going to be valuable to the school."
The organization started to pursue the purchase of an SMS code for Tufts after a meeting with the university's Web Communications Department, according to Vastola.
"We realized it could have a lot of features for students on the go," he said.
A central feature of the new system would be the ability to distribute messages to certain groups, which Vastola likened to a text version of an e−list. Professors, student groups and departments would be able to send out updates to subscribers.
The Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) could also use the feature to send out safety updates that do not qualify as campus−wide crises, Vastola said.
"We think this has a lot of benefits considering our school has been unfairly labeled as the most dangerous campus in the country," he said.
Another feature, known as the "Information Query Service," would allow students to text keywords, like "Carmichael Hours," to the server, which would respond with a preset answer. Students would also be able to access event information by searching based on time, location and sponsoring organization.
The referendum stipulates that the SMS system would only be funded if the TCU surplus funds are greater than or equal to $170,000 at the start of the fall semester.
"It's a very fiscally responsible proposal, and it won't really affect the budgets of groups or the stability of the treasury," TCU Treasurer Kate de Klerk, a junior, said.
Vastola first began his quest for TCU funds for the project last semester when he applied for a surplus grant, according to de Klerk. The request was denied, she said, because the purchase of an SMS short code is not a capital expense and thus not entitled to financing from the surplus fund, which is dedicated to bringing physical changes or improvements to campus.
"The project was cut out of earlier phases of the selection process," de Klerk said. De Klerk and Vastola then began to brainstorm other ways to fund the project.
"One option available to Mike was to petition the Senate to give him $20,000 out of the surplus money towards the SMS short code system," de Klerk said.
Vastola approached the Allocations Board (ALBO), which sets all budgets and is a key decision−maker in the surplus grant selection process. With a 5−3 vote, ALBO voted to send the proposal to the Senate on March 16, according to de Klerk.
The Senate rejected the proposal with a 6−13 vote and one abstention, according to Senator Yulia Korovikov, a sophomore. She believes that there are better uses for the money given recent technological advances, and hence voted against it.
"I think [the plan] was a few years too late because everyone has smartphones now," she said.
Vastola, however, cited the relative speed and ease of the SMS short code compared to browsing the Internet on a smartphone as key benefits. He also said it is important to remain cost−neutral when considering the implementation of new technology.
"You don't want to disadvantage students who can't afford a smartphone," he said.
TuftsLife would oversee the project implementation under Vastola's direction. Although he is graduating, he plans to remain in the Boston area.
"I will be working on it and making sure it launches correctly," Vastola said.
