The Hillsdale College Classics department has recently launched into the world of Twitter, wielding the handle @HDaleClassics.
According to Joseph Garnjobst, associate professor of classical studies and administrator of the new account, this new initiative of the department is to build a better community between students, professors, alumni, and friends of the college and to promote the classics.
“The idea is to tweet primarily in Greek or Latin, just because I don’t think that you are going to get that in any old place,” he said.
Garnjobst, who thought of the idea after collaboration with the marketing department, said that tweeting in Latin and Ancient Greek was such a novel thing. He said that the only other person he knows of who tweets regularly in Latin is Pope Francis.
“Not that I’m competing,” Garnjobst said.
Kokko Tso `13, web content manager for the marketing department, said that he is semi-able to read Garnjobst’s Latin tweets, because he graduated from the college as a Latin major. Tso said the marketing department appreciated the fact that Garnjobst collaborated with them before starting the project.
“We just said keep it fresh and keep it interesting, and Dr. Garnjobst has more than delivered on that,” he said. “It’s going to be very fun to follow.”
Tso said departments do not need permission to start twitter accounts, but many seek their feedback. He also said, because social media is such a new thing, the marketing department is still in the process of determining rules and guidelines for Hillsdale groups.
“We will probably work on trying to develop something along those lines, especially as social media gets much more prominent, for the safety of everyone involved,” Tso said.
There are Twitter and other social media pages for many Hillsdale groups, including departments, sports teams, honoraries, and alumni. Tso said that the marketing department not only runs the main Hillsdale Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google Plus, but also accounts for online courses and Imprimis.
Though the accounts are a couple years old, the department is now implementing new changes to revamp the pages. They are experimenting with live tweeting events and pouring resources into the project to get the word out about Hillsdale.
“Twitter represents another way for us to radiate Hillsdale out to the world, as well as keep people informed about what’s going on on campus,” Tso said. “We want to build a sense of community, engage, and help people feel that they are part of a larger community that is working towards a similar goal.”
Jacob Mueller ‘13 is a social media coordinator in the marketing department who helps monitor the different social media channels. He said that one goal of renovating the pages is to foster conversation between the college and all its audiences.
“One goal is to communicate with certain audiences at different times, so everyone is engaged and interested in what the college is doing, both externally and internally,” Mueller said.
Mueller also works with planning and executing different content campaigns, such as “Faces of Hillsdale,” which features pictures and quotes from professors and students on campus.
“We also want to spend more time focusing on students than we have in the past, because the college is nothing without the students,” Mueller said. “That’s why we exist, to help students learn.”
Garnjobst said that he hopes not just to tweet ancient verses, but also react to recent events, such as his first tweet for freshman convocation. The only English he will use is hashtags.
“Being limited to 140 characters though….Homer’s probably not going to make it,” he said, as he flipped through pages of Marcus Aurelius and Plutarch instead.
“The main idea behind it is just to have some fun and use that medium to promote the classics in a fun way,” Garnjobst said. “I think we can also do what we do with a smile on our face.”
