ISS launches new website
The Illinois Student Senate gathers in the Illini Union. The group is voting to ratify a new constitution.
November 12, 2016
As a way to gain more student involvement, the Illinois Student Senate has introduced an updated website for the first time in six-plus years.
“The old one was particularly old and not very user friendly or appealing to the eye, and we didn’t have as much direct control over it,” Illinois Student Senate technology coordinator Richard Goingam said.
The process to create the website itself took about four months, however it has been in the works for about two years, Goingam said.
There were several options to choose from to make the website, including hiring students or looking for outside help, but the senate ultimately decided to use their internal resources.
“We decided to go with the most cost effective and efficient option which was to use our resources in the office of Dean of Students and have them design it,” Goingam said.
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The biggest difference from the old website is its appearance.
“(It’s appearance) fits with the style that 2016 mandates,” Vice President External Alex Villanueva said. “It’s actually built in a blog style, so we’re able to go in very easily and update new information.”
The biggest challenge in creating the new website was not in the design itself, but maintaining the old web address so that students could still easily access the website.
“When we decided the best way to manage the new website was through the blog view, we were very worried we wouldn’t be able to keep the old url,” Villanueva said. “We overcame that challenge.”
Both Goingam and Villanueva hope students take advantage of this new website.
“This is where students can really go and learn more about us and learn more about their elective representatives and learn more about how to get involved with the student senate,” Goingam said.
“The main goal is that all of our information is easily accessible and that you can go on there very easily to check out what resolutions are being passed, the current budget, meeting times for committees, how to get involved with the student senate,” Villanueva added.
