SMUTube brings campus to the world

Site allows students and faculty to upload videos of life on campus

Students applying to university this year will have no problem finding out what happens on Saint Mary’s University campus.

SMUtube.ca, a new website that targets high schoolers, will allow prospective students to watch videos of students and professors at campus events without leaving their homes.

The site, modelled on the popular video sharing website YouTube, allows students and faculty to upload videos of life on campus.

SMUtube is tailored to students born in the nineties, a generation that grew up with Internet access, says Leslie Gascoigne, the director of Trampoline, the Halifax-based company that designed the site.

“They don’t watch TV, radio and newspapers like … they are online, multi-tasking and being quite busy. We knew we had to find a unique voice for them on behalf of Saint Mary’s.”

SMUtube is one way that the university can get its name to students from across Nova Scotia, Canada and abroad, Gascoigne said.

The site has received 1,500 hits from 46 countries since it was launched in June.

“Students can be on the other side of the world and still feel the experience of Saint Mary’s,” Gascoigne said.

The website is divided into four main sections: You, Spirit, Profs and Virtual Tour.

The You, Spirit and Profs sections allow students and faculty to post videos about events they’ve attended on campus, or about specific departments and programs.

The virtual tour displays interactive maps of Halifax and the campus.

SMUtube has 15 videos uploaded so far, which include videos of the football team, the cheerleading team and activities from orientation week.

Brad Leblanc, a first year student, posted a video of his campaign platform for the student council election.

Pat Bishara, the information officer at Saint Mary’s, says administrators view the videos before they are posted, but so far have approved all those submitted.

The administrators want students to be in control of the content of the videos, Bishara said.

“We thought this was a great way for students to talk to potential students, for students to talk to each other, and in a way that they communicate with each other.”

But publicity focused on new students has left current students in the dark. Many returning students do not know it exists.

Akram Ayach, a third-year psychology student, says he’s never been to the website.

“I saw an item button on the Saint Mary’s website, but I’ve never clicked on it.”

Matt Brown, a master of business administration student, and Erin McFaddyen, a third-year history major, say they’ve never heard of SMUtube.

Bishara says the school is organizing video contests for the fall to encourage returning students to upload videos.

She says returning students will hear more about the website as the school year progresses.

“It will be forever changing, forever growing, and we will continue to get feedback from students on what we don’t have on there.”

Comments on this story are now closed