Summary: With students taking to social media to complain about the cold temperatures, we love that President Beverly Warren is also tuning in, and participating in, the conversation.

With temperature readings on our cell phones hovering around the 0 degree mark and the wind chill cutting through us like a knife, some student have taken to Twitter and Yik Yak to voice their opinions. If classes get canceled, students rejoice. If they don’t, students complain.

Twitter and Yik Yak, two apps designed to give people a voice and allow connections to occur in the digital world, have become the go-to source for both information and, sometimes, comedic relief. Take, for instance, the interaction between President Beverly Warren and the students on campus this past week.

“I bet Akron’s president doesn’t tweet fire like Bev” and “There’s still more salt in Bev’s tweet than there are on the sidewalks” were two Yaks that showed up in the local feed in relation to Warren’s tweet, “Many factors are considered when making weather related campus closings. One of them is not the number of tweets lacking in civility.” 

Whether you call it sassiness or constructive feedback, it’s the president herself that’s responding.

It’s not just the cold temps and the icy sidewalks that students have voiced concerns about. When one student tweeted at 

@KSUprobs about a ventilation problem in a campus building Wednesday, @PresBWarren responded that she was aware of the issue and would be contacting the facilities and safety departments.

It’s the simple interactions between a top university leader — who actually operates her own Twitter account, in case you didn’t know — and the students that really sets an example. Other university presidents or leaders might have responded harshly or not at all. By responding in a way that resonates with students, not just on Twitter but also on other social media outlets, the president is letting the student body know: She hears you and she cares.

It’s this kind of connection between president and students that has so far characterized Warren’s presidency. She clearly cares about the students of Kent State. We think that Bev should keep interacting with students on social media in a positive manner because it sets an example for both students and other university leaders. If you want to call it sass, then keep it sassy, Bev. It’s working, and students are noticing. And they appreciate the authenticity and genuineness of that connection.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of The Kent Stater editorial board.