Dearmin to unveil new Web calendar

Student organizations soon will have a chance to revamp their Web sites and connect with other groups on campus to form one comprehensive calendar of events.

One of Student Body President Seth Dearmin's campaign promises was to increase efficiency and communication in the campus community.

And now, through a software program called Mambo, Dearmin's goal is one step closer to completion.

"We've revamped the entire Web site," Dearmin said.

The student government Web site has been using the Mambo software for approximately three weeks, he said.

But, the software will not be available to other campus organizations for one or two more months.

The biggest change for students, Dearmin said, will be the introduction of an Internet site that links the online calendars from each student organization that set up its Web site with Mambo.

Student government will help members of these organizations incorporate their Web sites with the software, said Colin Hicks, co-chairman of the technology and web services committee.

Then a new site will be created to pick up feed from the campus groups' Web sites and post news and events.

Through the feeds, posts will be automatically e-mailed to other Mambo members.

The main site will contain updates from all organizations as well as a calendar with all upcoming campus events - providing students with one centralized location to find any information they need.

Students will be able to search the calendar by date, event or organization.

But the site remains a work in progress.

"For it to be successful you need some key organizations to get involved," said Mark Laabs, Dearmin's chief of staff.

So far, three campus organizations in addition to student government have signed on to use the software.

The Student Union, the Campus Y and the Residence Hall Association all have plans to set up sites using Mambo.

And student government is working to include more organizations by contacting group leaders, Laabs said.

Student government will rely on those individual organizations to inform students of the new system.

The software also has benefits for student groups' individual Web sites.

The Mambo Foundation - an award-winning Open Source Content Management System - is a non-profit corporation that operates on the behalf of Mambo and its membership.

The foundation is self-governed by its members.

The new software will make it easier for registered users to post updates using a format similar to Microsoft Word, Laabs said.

"The biggest advantage is that I can go on and add content myself," said Patrick Elliot, co-chairman of student government's student life committee.

"It's really easy to use."

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.