Lack of Communication: Media’s Flaw?

Radio, television and print; these are the top three conduits of receiving information. On Jan. 17, a two-hour delay had students asking questions to which no one had an answer. The snow day caused uproar among Piedmont students and faculty because of the campus closing. A delay of two hours set schedules to ten in the morning. The confusion arose when many wondered whether or not to report for nine-thirty classes. Also, some students thought that eight a.m. classes would proceed at ten a.m.
Resident assistant Katie Corley said, “It was frustrating because the administration didn’t set up a time convenient for Tuesday and Thursday classes. There needs to be better communication from the administration to students, whether that be through the website or by email. I called someone to see about the school’s hours and they said, ‘I don’t know’ when I was trying to answer my residents.”
A way to improve campus communication would be to have a phone tree. If the President was obligated to call Mark Maynard and Drew Davis the problem would be solved. Maynard would deliver the message to the Residence Staff and Davis would forward the message in an email or text message. Reinhardt college handles their commuters solely through email. However, if the Internet is down at the school, then she must rely on local news to post the cancellation. Today there are many types of media. However, Piedmont College neglected to use all their resources. In case of a real emergency, with what plan will the campus proceed? It wasn’t the media’s flaw of communication that was at fault. In fact, the Internet and phone lines were intact. The problem exists solely with campus communicators who left many cold and confused outside their classrooms.