• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
      Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
    • CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
      CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
    • WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
      WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Andrew tate: ending the cycle of toxic masculinity
      Andrew tate: ending the cycle of toxic masculinity
    • Turn it off: healing from news fatigue in the digital age
      Turn it off: healing from news fatigue in the digital age
    • Let them eat bread: the unequal effects of food price inflation
      Let them eat bread: the unequal effects of food price inflation
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • The 95th Academy Awards Nominations: The Cool and The Controversial
      The 95th Academy Awards Nominations: The Cool and The Controversial
    • Lucy Dacus Brings a Minimal Yet Powerful Performance to Northeastern University
      Lucy Dacus Brings a Minimal Yet Powerful Performance to Northeastern University
    • “Glass Onion” Takes Shots at Easy Targets
      “Glass Onion” Takes Shots at Easy Targets
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Sports and Wellness
    • Student-Athlete of October
      Student-Athlete of October
    • Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
      Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
    • The Case for Body Neutrality
      The Case for Body Neutrality
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Rejected Snooze Articles for the Week
      Rejected Snooze Articles for the Week
    • Happy Valentine’s Day from Spog
      Happy Valentine’s Day from Spog
    • The Four Best Places to Loudly FaceTime Someone on Campus
      The Four Best Places to Loudly FaceTime Someone on Campus
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Alexandria Otero OpinionsOctober 17, 2018

Wellesley class groups: a necessary evil

At least three times a semester, my phone is bombarded with texts from my friends asking “Did you see the latest email?” Given how accessible gmail is to the entire student body, it is easy to discern that another reply all chain has been added to the class groups. My friends and I always joke that these chains go hand in hand with midterms and finals at Wellesley –– when everyone’s stress is at an all-time high and replying all to the community for anything from requesting a fork in Tower (never forget Class of 2019) to asking everyone else to not reply all to an email seems permissible. Class groups have gained a sort of notoriety on campus because of their constant presence in our inboxes and the flurry of jokes they inspire. Besides reply all emails, the class groups house everything from org spam to administrative announcements. While the information in the class groups can be useful at times, it seems impossible to go five minutes without receiving a notification of yet another email on your device. Though the emails a student receives do not usually pertain to their personal life, these constant messages — which promote events, applications and e-board elections — unnecessarily stress the already overworked student. In order to curb this stress, Wellesley students and administration need to rethink how we handle the flurry of emails in the short term and how we will communicate with one another in the long term.

One of the most useful tools on class groups is the digest option. One of the largest complaints students voice about emails is the large number they receive every day. On average, Wellesley students receive upwards of 50 emails per day, which can be very overwhelming. Since Wellesley has a pervasive stress culture, it can be stress-inducing for students to receive countless emails asking them to join clubs, attend events and apply for committees. One of the best ways for students to limit the number of emails –– given the communication system we have now –– would be to use the digest feature on Google Groups. Class digest consolidates 25 class emails into a single one. Instead of receiving 50 emails a day, one would simply receive two or three. Although one of the drawbacks would be not receiving information about everything happening on campus the moment it is sent, you can still catch up if you go on the Google groups page. If you are interested in attending an open meeting or watching drama unfold on class groups, you simply need to type in a url.

Another way email stress could be curtailed in the long term would be through the restriction of email-related power — meaning only designated people would possess the means to email the entire school. Wellesley’s email power is rare on a college campus; most students at other schools do not have the power to email the entire student body. One of the solutions proposed by students for years is to give solely organization-affiliated emails the power to email the classes. Ideally, these emails would abide by the spamming rules of the Senate Special Ethics Committee (SPEC) and only email the student body when necessary. While concerns have been raised about transitions after students graduate, it seems like a better method of communication than having a plethora of students emailing the entire student body with no regulation. If one student or group of students were in charge of sending emails for an org, students could then filter through emails easier. By granting fewer students the power to email the entire class, we can lessen stress. If students need to report missing items, they can then go on the different class pages on social media or use another platform.

While Wellesley’s Google Groups is a cultural phenomena, it seems to exacerbate stress instead of provide entertainment or information. If there are ways to take care of students’ mental health, then we should take advantage of them. If limiting the number of emails or giving orgs and admins only the power to email accomplishes the aforementioned task, we should do just that. For right now, I encourage students to use features like the digest to help manage email stress. Ultimately however, we need a cleaner system. Let’s save the lost one card conversations for Facebook.

 

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleShocking TellTale Games closure speaks to larger industry issues
Next articleMen are not angels

You may also like

Logos of social media apps such as Twitter, Tiktok, Netflix, Spotify, and Discord.

Andrew tate: ending the cycle of toxic masculinity

Abstract painting of various boxes meant to imply computer and phone screens

Turn it off: healing from news fatigue in the digital age

A collection of a wide variety of foods in the colors of the rainbow

Let them eat bread: the unequal effects of food price inflation

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

  • Logos of social media apps such as Twitter, Tiktok, Netflix, Spotify, and Discord. Andrew tate: ending the cycle of toxic masculinity
  • Stone-Davis dining staff report mistreatment
  • The 95th Academy Awards Nominations: The Cool and The Contro...
  • A collection of a wide variety of foods in the colors of the rainbow Let them eat bread: the unequal effects of food price inflat...
  • Red envelope that contains money to celebrate the Lunar New Year. America’s cultural appropriation is a modern form of i...

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top