The city of Oxford has created a new resource for residents to ask questions, report violations and stay current on city events. The Web site, named The Citizen Support Center, replaced an older online system. The site lets citizens search the knowledge base and submit questions to various departments. There is an internal timer that automatically sends submitted questions to another department if they are not answered within three days.
The editorial board of The Miami Student thinks the new site is a helpful tool to navigate the city Web site according to an individual's needs. The organization of the site can be a good place to start gathering information about living in Oxford. Most students don't live in Oxford year-round, so they often have the most questions on water bills, trash collection and city events and this site is a good place to find those answers.
The board believes this Web site is a good way to improve communication between the city and residents, but think the city could work to make it more student-friendly, considering a large portion of the Oxford population is composed of students. Associate Student Government's Student Relations Committee can work with the city to create a student tab with frequently asked student questions. Students could submit questions to the committee, who could work with the appropriate departments to create substantial answers to the questions.
Many students complain they don't truly understand the in's and out's of certain city ordinances, and this Web site could be used as a tool to solve that problem. Some students may not be comfortable submitting questions to the city by registering their email addresses and identifying themselves.
Students being able to submit their questions to their off-campus senator, who could present them to the committee, is a way for ASG and the city to work together on improving communication between the students and city. ASG could work with the city to clear any confusion on city ordinances, especially those impacting students more than local residents, such as litter and outdoor furniture violations.
The Citizen Support Center is a great tool to improve communication between the city and residents, but can be made more effective for students if ASG works to add a student tab and address student questions.
