An Associated Students of the University of Arizona senator reestablished the UA Listens Facebook to allow open communication between students and ASUA.
On the UA Listens Facebook page, students can post petitions about what they want changed or what they’re concerned about at the UA to ASUA.
Restoring this Facebook page is one of the projects Sen. Joe Zanoni is leading for ASUA this semester.
The page is operated through a series of four steps. A student must first create a petition for the issue they feel needs to be addressed. The petition must then be submitted through a link found on the Facebook page.
Once the petition has been posted to the UA Listens wall, the student must then promote and share their idea. If the petition receives at least 100 likes, it is guaranteed to be discussed at an ASUA Senate meeting.
Zanoni is working to inform students about the page and its benefits.
“I’m trying to get the word out so we can get a direct link to student concerns and what they want from our student government,” Zanoni said.
Tim Navarro, a pre-business freshman, said he is excited about the direct connection between the student government and students.
“I think it would be good to reestablish the Facebook page,” Navarro said, “because it will give the student body a chance to really connect with [ASUA] and express their ideas and get their point across about what the campus needs.”
Zanoni said the page was adopted by a previous senator and was active two years ago, but disappeared as the change in senate happened. He said the website sort of fell off the priority list.
ASUA President Issac Ortega said the Facebook page worked very well the first time around, but after about a year, the page lost its steam. This time, the goal is to keep students engaged through incentives to share their ideas.
Zanoni said he plans to be hands-on with the page and spread the word to keep students interested and the page active. He said he will help filter petitions and make sure they are being sent through the SurveyMonkey link.
“Everyone I’ve talked to about UA Listens is trying to make it as big as possible,” Zanoni said.
The UA Listens page joined Facebook on Feb. 22, 2013, and the first post states the page’s mission statement.
“No idea is too crazy. No problem is too small,” the post states. “If you are passionate about it, your ASUA Senate cares about it, and will find a way to make it, solve it, promote it.”
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