Laurier Brantford is embracing the digital age through a new $100,000 venture called the Digital Display Project. Its goal is to improve cross-campus communications though a series of digital display screens.
Similar to that of the display screens found in the Market Street Williams Coffee Pub, these screens will be found inside of Laurier buildings, and will display information such as campus events, advertisements and announcements.
Not only that, but the screens will have the ability to display emergency notifications in the case of fire or another emergency, theoretically making the campus safer.
“Certainly we have the ability to activate campus-wide alerts, which is pretty cool, actually, and it’s a nice step in the right direction to increase campus safety,” says Student Affairs coordinator, Ross Fraser.
Fraser originally came up with the idea three years ago when he was at the Waterloo campus of Wilfrid Laurier, but after his term ended as VP of the Student’s Union, the project came to a standstill. Recently, he has been working with David Prang, Director of Student Services, for a year and a half to try to get the project started again, this time at Laurier Brantford.
Some students have been skeptical about the project.
“It’s a lot of money,” said first year student Cassie Roberts. “It’s a good idea in theory, but I don’t know how many people would actually use it.”
Other students expressed concern for the cost of the project, and suggested that we could use the money on other things around campus.
Prang, on the other hand, feels that the Digital Display project will “bring the ability to communicate with students in a more immediate fashion … and it would definitely be a daily, or many times a day reminder, of both things that are going on and where some of their student fees are going.”
Ross Fraser, David Prang, Gary Wagner, and Melissa Burke will be part of a steering team whose goal is to get the project up and running now that they have the financial support of the Student Life Levy.
Students can expect to see screens around campus as early as this September.
