Do you remember the girl who ran for AS president in 2012 whose platform was centered around bringing Nutella to the Caf? Well, she also — rather brilliantly — proposed the launch of a comprehensive calendar covering all Biola happenings.
Of course, as fate would have it, Natasha Cheeley lost the election, and we the people of Biola have remained calendarless ever since. Sure, we have access to separate calendars for all corners of the Biola world — sports, AS, the Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts, etc. Right now, however, the closest thing we have to a comprehensive calendar is the weekly Off Campus Community newsletter. And course, that email only goes out to OCC students. In our opinion, it’s high time Biolans had a one-stop shop for information on upcoming events.
Never miss an event again
The purpose of this event calendar would be to provide one place for all Biola-affiliated persons — students, faculty and beyond — to be aware of all activities going on. No more receiving information simply by word-of-mouth, a small poster in front of the Caf or an email that will most likely get deleted before being read.
There are events that often go unnoticed, like special chapels, musical productions and lectures from guests who are brought in for specific department talks. They could easily be better advertised with readily-available technology.
We have the means
Recently, Biola has been stepping up their game in the tech world. The introduction of easy-to-navigate sites for AS and the CCCA, flat screen TVs all around campus and apps for Torrey and Missions conferences make this project seem feasible. A comprehensive, collaborative Biola events calendar could be implemented on all of these platforms, allowing students to check up regularly on what’s going on, whether they are passing by a screen or clicking on an app.
Discovery starts here
Not only could we use the calendar to keep tabs on events we already know about, but we could also have access to events we might not have heard of otherwise. As of now, students must intentionally look at the calendar of each department or club in which they are interested.
With a collaborative events calendar, we would see events put on by all campus outlets, including those not necessarily on our radar. This could draw us out of our daily bubbles and give us more opportunities to try all Biola has to offer. It’s difficult to expand our horizons if we are expected to look places we normally wouldn’t.
Biola has a busy schedule. Without a central source for information, many events fall through the cracks. The comprehensive calendar would be extremely successful and appreciated by students, staff and the Biola community at large. But first, someone has to step up and create it.
