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Students Are Getting a Daily Dose of the Daily Jolt By Jillian Hanson There's a new Web trend on college campuses these days that got its start right here in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. The five colleges in the area-and an increasing number of others across the country-all have their own Daily Jolts, a network of student-run Web pages that are specific to each college but similar in format. Smith's Daily Jolt, created and maintained by "the happy little Internet elves of the Student Government Association," as they call themselves, is a place where Smithies can get the local weather forecast or the day's menu, browse campus event listings, find out what's happening in town and at the Five Colleges, and participate in on-line discussions. The first Daily Jolt was created by a couple of Amherst College students, who are now busy marketing their idea, their format and their Jolt network to schools across the country. When they asked SGA vice president Kendra Grimes '01 if she knew anyone who might be interested in setting up a Jolt page at Smith, she accepted the challenge herself. She recognized it as the solution to the problems she and her colleagues in student government were having as they tried to carve out their own spot on the World Wide Web. Since its inception in October 1999, Smith's Daily Jolt has really caught on. "It is one of the most appreciated things the SGA has done for students," says Grimes. "It has been especially good for Smith women." Grimes says things can get a little insular at Smith, with women connecting only with the people in their houses and not necessarily with others across campus. She feels the Jolt is not only an important information resource, but that it also provides a valuable service to those who wish to hook up with a wider campus community. It is the discussion forums, perhaps the most popular feature of the Daily Jolt, that have opened up a campus-wide dialogue that Smith has never had before. "We have 11,000 posts in our forum," says Grimes, "about a thousand hits a day. It's an amazing testimony to how Smith women need to vent." The ever-changing topics of discussion range from the effectiveness of boycotting companies that employ sweatshop workers to the most recent episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There is no censorship by the SGA, and no topic is taboo. Not surprisingly, the forums have sparked some controversy on campus. A November 1999 Sophian staff editorial, bearing the headline "The Daily Jolt Forum: Anonymity Bites," decried the carelessness and less-than-respectful language that often accompany on-line postings. "Before hiding behind the cybercurtain and shouting your opinion out to anyone who'll listen," the editorial reads, "think of the only name associated with the forum: Smith College. And think about posting your name or the organization you represent along with what you have to say." But Grimes feels it is the anonymous nature of the forum format that has freed up so many Smith voices. "People can be anonymous and speak their minds without worrying about their neighbor giving them a dirty look," Grimes says. "If people aren't yet comfortable enough to say who they are and what they feel, at least they can now say what they feel, and eventually I hope we can all feel safe enough to do both." You can check out the Daily Jolt at smith.dailyjolt.com. |
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