The Bonnies Connect App is St. Bonaventure’s smartphone application, but some Bonnies are having troubles with the app.
One of these students is Emily Palmer, a junior English major.
“There’s no reason to have it. They put events out every single day on the Notice Board,” she said. “Plus, there’s the issue with signing in sometimes, and it’s annoying to be told you have to redownload the app or sign in before you can actually enter certain events.”
If there is a software problem, this could be a problem for students taking SBU 101, as they are mandated to go to different events on campus.
Students Valentina Cossio, a freshman undeclared business major, and Karolina Dombaxi, a freshman journalism major, both think that the application should have notifications to remind you of what is happening on campus. This could help students and faculty become more involved with the application, as it becomes more helpful for the spread of information when teachers post events on the SBU Connect app.
According to Sarah Barnard, the assistant director for the Student Success Center, the application was created in 2018 by Robbie Chulick, the associate director of residence life, and Chris Brown, the executive director for Student Success and HEOP, with the intention of giving students a way to see what is happening on campus. Barnard highlighted some of the features of the application.
“You can reference the app to see what activities are happening, academic events, athletic events and more,” she said. “You can access a campus directory and the Hickey Dining Hall menu. It is also helpful for tracking attendance at events, especially if it is a mandatory or extra credit event, and we can keep track of how well attended events are.”
Both Dominic Gismondi, a freshman cybersecurity major, and Nick Labella, a freshman childhood studies major, have trouble with the software of the application. Labella describes having issues with the scanner to sign in and out of events and Gismondi has problems with the application crashing. This could mean trouble for any freshman who comes to this university, as this application is how freshman access their main schedule for orientation. If freshman depend on an app that is constantly crashing, they might miss an important meeting.
Students Valentina Cossio, a freshman undeclared business major, and Bianca Billoni, a freshman journalism major, are glad they have the application.
Cossio finds it to be effective and helpful especially during orientation. The application has an active map with directions to your activity during orientation and this can help someone who is new to Bonaventure.
Billoni said, “It helps me to see when and where events are happening on campus and who else might be going.”
The application has a calendar of current and upcoming events and this could be helpful for planning one’s schedule.
In the end, the application is mandatory to download if you are a freshman, or if you are in SBU 101. It’s not a choice for some students to use the app if they are to pass certain classes. The application has made it simpler to find campus events, but students have been having software problems with the application. The application has potential, but SBU Connect is being held back by software limitations.
By William McDonough
Staff Writer
mcdonowo19@bonaventure.edu
