The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate last week passed a proposal to create a Tufts How−To Wiki, a community−based platform for information related to the university.
TCU Senator Mike Vastola, a senior who sponsored the proposal, explained that the online wiki would be edited by members of the Tufts community.
"It would have information on how to do anything from drop a class, to reserve a room, to start a club on campus," Vastola said.
He felt that such information was currently dispersed across a wide variety of resources.
"I often find myself in search of instructions on how to solve a particular Tufts problem," Vastola said.
An unfinished project that present TCU Vice President Wyatt Cadley initiated last semester during his tenure as Services Committee co−chair served as the inspiration for the wiki, according to Vastola.
Cadley, a junior, said that a project had been underway last year to consolidate a Tufts guidebook, which would have contained information about less−known university resources.
"We're not sure if we're still going to go through with it now or whether we're just going to incorporate it into the wiki," he said.
Members of the community will be able to access the wiki free of charge and the Senate will not have to expend any funds to operate the resource, according to Vastola.
Cadley added that production costs for the wiki would be lower compared to those for the guidebook, which would have to be printed.
The wiki proposal passed in the Senate with no debate and no formal vote as it received unanimous support, according to Cadley.
"There was no substantial opposition to warrant an actual vote tally," he said.
Senator Andrew Nunez, a freshman who serves on the Services Committee, was in favor of the proposition.
"I feel like it'd be better to have all this information online in one place, as well as in books and in other resources, so that people can have it at their fingertips at all times, whether it be on a computer or smartphone," he said.
It has yet to be decided who will have permission to edit articles on the wiki, according to Vastola.
"It might make sense to restrict the people who can edit the Wiki to pre−approved members of the Tufts community," he said.
Nunez noted that some senators were concerned that some students would misuse the site by including inside jokes in the articles. Still, Vastola emphasized that he wants everyone to have a chance to contribute, and hopes that the wiki will be edited on a volunteer basis.
He noted that the website will also be useful for students to find information about less−publicized potential activities on campus.
"[The wiki will be] an awesome resource for anyone who's ever wanted to do something but had no idea how to do it," Vastola said.
Nunez cited the benefits a wiki would have for new students unfamiliar with Tufts procedures.
"Especially as a freshman, [the wiki] would be extremely helpful to have so that once you get to Tufts, you can hit the ground running," he said.
Vastola will be working on the wiki's creation by himself, with the backing of the Senate, and plans to launch the site within the next two weeks. He also runs the TuftsLife.com and plans to incorporate aspects of TuftsLife into the wiki.
"It really is a great initiative," Cadley said. "If any senator with tech−savvy knowledge can make it happen, it's Mike Vastola."
