The JacketPages site in its current form fails to fulfill intended tasks, delivers little in comparison to the cost associated and should be replaced by a system developed from within the Tech community. When adopted a few years ago, JacketPages was supposed to be a social networking tool for student organizations to link them with potential new members and an easy bill-submission system. Unfortunately, neither has come to fruition as the system lacks wide-spread campus use and many aspects, especially the important SGA bill submission feature, are over-complicated. The few organizations that have truly used the system in any meaningful way have likely done so out of necessity to submit a budget or to get funding, not for convenience or usability reasons.
JacketPages also drains five-figure funds from the budget every year and delivers little for the cost. Many of the social aspects the program attempts to accommodate can be fulfilled for free on other social networking sites such as Facebook. A simple website that lists campus organizations and links people to their sites would be just as effective as JacketPages and would come with far less cost. Since many organization are already on such social networking websites or maintain their own sites, most people on campus would not notice if the system was discontinued.
A new system with more limited use, mainly for SGA bill submission, could be easily developed on campus through an open completion with a financial reward for the winner. Tech has tons of talent in waiting, and failing to put them to use is a simple waste of resources. Such a site developed in house could also be maintained more efficiently and more economically using student employees to simply watch over the code and address issues as needed. Outsourcing such a task to a third party only undermines Tech’s purpose of developing future innovators.
Consensus: Jacket Pages, exit stage right
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