Reddit is an invaluable social media service that is drastically underutilized at St. Edward’s University. Creating a better St. Edward’s subreddit could benefit the Hilltopper community.

A subreddit is a branch of Reddit devoted entirely to one subject, from music and gaming to news and education.

Many universities have started to branch further into social media by developing Facebook and Twitter pages.

St. Edward’s even has an Instagram. But still, an active subreddit is nonexistent on the Hilltop.

The popularity of Reddit proves the benefits of using it.

Reddit receives 114.3 million unique visitors every month, spanning 190 countries.

There are thousands of subreddits spanning topics such as news, music and entertainment.

Out of the 3 million accounts, University of Texas at Austin subscribers claim over 6000.

The UT subreddit has remained very active since its establishment.

It provides a place for Longhorn “redditors” to share inside jokes and unique stories.

St. Edward’s subreddit, however, boasts a mere 248 subscribers. Few are actually active.

Compared to many other subreddits, the St. Edward’s page is completely dead, with the highest voted post being 11 upvotes (points) posted two years ago.

A St. Edward’s subreddit that students are actively using could benefit the university in many ways.

For example, it could provide transfer students and freshmen a look into university life.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Reddit is entirely anonymous, allowing users to ask questions and propose ideas without having their names attached to it.

These web-based sources would allow prospective students to get an insight into life on campus.

For the most part, the campus is already very integrated into social media and technology as a whole.

Improving the SEU subreddit will give the university an even stronger hold on online media.

It will also bring the community together, as students will feel more connected to one another.

Once use of the St. Edward’s subreddit increases, the university could offer an interesting course in which students investigate the site in depth, learning how to utilize their resources to gather information and use it more effectively.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has done just that, creating a stir among educational institutes by implementing a “Credit for Reddit” course that stems from a student’s realistic observation: “I already Reddit instead of homework, so I might as well Reddit for homework.”

The course’s syllabus is designed around understanding the popular website Reddit.

In the Reddit class, students will study how and why the site works. One topic that the course will cover, for example, is the globalization of information and group socialization.

Because the university encourages the study of globalization, this type of course would be perfect for the university.

Reddit, possibly followed by a Reddit course offered at the university, is the perfect way to engage students and develop a stronger campus community.

College is a breeding ground for new information and technology.

It is only fair to give Reddit an opportunity to bring St. Edward’s closer together.