In 2020, being a college student comes with more challenges than ever before. COVID-19 has affected the college experience for students across the world, and campus life looks different for everyone. While some students are fully remote for the semester, others are back in the dorms. Now, it’s crucial to find ways to connect with other students in order to build relationships and feel involved in a community. Facebook recognizes this, and is here to help.
On September 10, Facebook announced the launch of Facebook Campus, a section of the app designed for college students to connect with one another. After entering a .edu email address and graduation year, students can create a Campus Profile that lives in Facebook Campus, separate from their main profile. There, they can share information about themselves related to college, some specifics which may not make sense on their regular profile (majors, minors, classes and hometowns). Some other key features include the Campus-only News Feed, Campus Directory, and Campus Chats.
Facebook has always had roots in college; it was started in a dorm room 16 years ago with the goal to connect fellow Harvard students. It created a sense of community and allowed students to communicate even when they weren’t physically together. Today, billions of people all over the world use Facebook. Rather than logging into Facebook and seeing posts from their grandparents, aunts, cousins, and long lost friends, students can log into Campus and only see posts from students at their same school.
Whether remote or on campus, Facebook Campus could be just what students need to bring back a feeling of normalcy. The Campus Directory makes it easy to find students with similar interests – A.K.A. making it easy to find your new BFF or study buddy. You can filter students by classes, majors, graduation year, dorms and more. Strike up a conversation with a classmate and meet for a virtual coffee or a socially distant study session. The possibilities are endless!
Similarly, Campus Chats are a great way to stay connected. Rather than a group where you have to choose and invite members, Campus Chats are live chat rooms students can pop in and out of. There are chat rooms based on campus clubs (hello Her Campus chapters), dorms, classes, and more. They can even be used for virtual events.
Charmaine Hung, Product Manager of Campus, states that while the initial launch of Campus only includes 30 schools, Facebook is hoping to expand to more schools in the future. There is also talk of integrating alumni into Campus for different networking and communication purposes.
Facebook Campus is one major tool students can use to feel close, even when they are apart. In today’s world, isn’t that what we’re all looking for?