As a student at the University of Wisconsin, how often do you check your Wiscmail? I ask because how often you check your inbox determines how many spam emails you might find. If you check frequently, the number will be low each time, but if you check every few days — prepare for a landslide.
When I learned about my Wiscmail account, I was delighted I finally had a separate email for important academic purposes. I thought I now had a space to check on any assignments or notifications from my professors without being disrupted by too much spam. I expected my Wiscmail to be unlike accounts I’d used in the past which would constantly blast out notifications and offers, filling my inbox. But I was wrong.
Of course, I did expect announcements from UW every so often. I just didn’t realize a lot of other clubs, associations and faculties would use our accounts to promote their cause on a daily basis.
Students don’t often pay emails much mind, considering life is too hectic to spend your free time sorting through and reading emails. The Wiscmail account should be a time saver for students who need to check on any new updates and tasks assigned to them quickly.
Some might argue in favor of deleting all personally unrelated emails. Unfortunately, not all emails are spam — some might be of importance, like a memo notifying you to pick up tickets to DJ Khaled’s concert.
However, every time I check my email for assignment notices, they’re usually buried under mounds of junk. As the day progresses, the avalanche only gets worse. Not only is this annoying, but can induce stress as the spam piles higher and higher while your important mail falls further and further down the list.
If you have the Outlook app on your phone, try using the “focused” feature which does it’s best to filter academic emails into one place.
I truly believe there should be an option for students to decline the option of receiving any sort of advertising mail. UW can at least do a better job of providing filters, perhaps implementing one which enables students to filter their interests and let the advertising content flow in based on those selections. Less spam mail will minimize student stress, freeing up time for more important matters.
But for now, like it or not, we have to put up with sitting quietly on our devices reading, sorting and deleting emails on a daily basis, which has become a part of student life. Perhaps, in the future, that’ll be part of our professional life as well. At least we’re prepared.
Zafiera Zeinal ([email protected]) is a sophomore studying psychology.
