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New website to connect students, E.L. community

September 8, 2010

MSU students living in the East Lansing community can now find information regarding transportation, city laws and other resources at the Community Relations Coalition’s, or CRC’s, new Spartan Big List website.

The list launched in August as part of the ongoing We All Live Here campaign and website sponsored by the CRC, said Erin Carter, CRC community liaison. Links to sites of businesses, services and resources in the community were compiled to give students one stop for all their questions about living in East Lansing.

“It’s designed to help people who are MSU students to make East Lansing their home while they’re in college,” Carter said.

Various topics are addressed in the links included on the site, such as the Capital Area Transportation Authority, Spartan Athletics, moving companies and how to party legally.

CRC previously distributed the information using flyers and handouts but the strategy used a great deal of manpower and paper, said Annette Irwin, East Lansing’s code enforcement operations administrator.

Now that the list is online, information can be updated constantly and students are less likely to lose track of the resources, she said.

“Information we distribute in the fall might not be current in the spring,” Irwin said. “You might toss it because you don’t need it now and then need it later on.”

The site was launched in August and then promoted through various avenues because many students move in right before the school year begins and have immediate needs, Carter said.

“It’s really designed to be a quick access kind of place where a lot of topics are addressed,” she said. “They have a lot of questions about things you need to know to live in your home like when trash day is (and) when recycling is.”

The ability of MSU students and East Lansing residents to easily access the information is key in the success of the list, economics junior Joel Ruffin said.

“If it’s simplified, it would be easier for you whether you were a student or if you live here,” he said. “The simpler it is, the more likely it is that people will use it.”

Students are an important part of the East Lansing community and the We All Live Here campaign strives to include them in the community, Irwin said.

“It’s been a goal to promote the recognition that we all live here together ­— young, old, people from around the world,” she said. “This is all our community and our place together.”

For more information, visit wealllivehere.org.

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