Julia Winterhalter

Professor Morse

COM360-A

April 6, 2020

Social Media in a Crisis

Bryant University has been handling COVID-19 related social media posts with care.

However, current President Ronald Machtley has been voicing more than ever his love for his

bulldogs. I looked carefully at the official Twitter accounts of Bryant University (@BryantUniv)

and Ron Machtley (@BryantUPrez) to see how they are sharing thoughts on this crisis. With

over ten thousand followers and more than twelve thousand tweets, Bryant University’s Twitter

account is a huge resource for students, parents, faculty, and alumni. The majority of tweets on

this account include spotlights on various professors, students, and alumni, updates of events on

campus, and occasional retweeting of other Bryant related accounts, such as admissions or

athletics. Their first COVID-19 related tweet was posted on March 2nd, 2020, in response to the

Rhode Island Department of Health’s announcement of the first coronavirus case in the state.

The tweet, which linked to the Bryant emergency website, included procedures the university is

taking for students studying abroad, planning to go away for spring break, and those still on

campus. After sharing this tweet, @BryantUniv went back to their normal format of posting.

This may have caused the initial COVID-19 tweet to get lost within the others, and therefore not

inform the majority of their audience about what is going on. The post becomes less effective as

more tweets are shared and it gets pushed towards the bottom of users’ feeds. The next update
about the crisis was posted on March 10th, about a week later. In this tweet, Bryant University

shared that they will be moving to online classes for two weeks and enforcing students to remain

at home due to the rapid spread of the virus. Once this decision was implemented, other

Bryant-related clubs and organizations had to shut down as well. @BryantUniv retweeted from

these accounts to spread the word and posted occasional updates about the emergency website

every few days. Their tweets became more related to the crisis and were much more informative

and effective to their audience than their initial post about coronavirus. They tweeted more

resources for help and provided more reassurance that the faculty and staff are working hard to

make the best out of the situation. Their social media platform became much more useful and

constructive towards their targeted audience which in return leads to improvements and safety

among everyone.

As the main spokesperson for Bryant University, Ron Machtley has a very impactful

voice when it comes to times of crises. His twitter account acts as a resource for more personal

matters where he often posts his love and support for students and faculty. Before the increase of

COVID-19 tweets, Machtley’s posts mostly consisted of retweeting Bryant athletic accounts to

cheer on the Division 1 sports teams. His tweets were always upbeat and positive to pass along

the feeling to his community. After his announcement on March 10th about the decision to move

online for two weeks, Machtley quoted the Bryant University tweet to add a more emotional and

personal message, and even tacked on a few emojis. Since then, his tweets have almost only

consisted of COVID-19 content in a sentimental fashion. Rather than providing official

information as the Bryant University account did, Machtley’s tweets were more centered around

making sure everyone is staying safe and showing his gratitude for all the hard work everyone
has put into making online learning work effectively. However, the most impactful tweets started

showing up around March 18th, as the president began posting pictures from his daily walks

around an empty campus. Although he urges everyone to stay home and remain safe, these

particular tweets have a tone of false hope that students will be returning to campus soon. Some

phrases he has used include, “U will be back to campus soon, but just not now”, “waiting for the

return of the beloved bulldogs”, “Spring will come again and the (Bryant) beach will be full”,

and “we sooo wish you were here”. While thoughtful and sentimental, these phrases are making

the situation out to seem less than it is, and that soon enough everything will be back to normal.

In some ways, this causes more problems because his audience, the students at home, are

thinking they will be back on campus before the end of the semester by the President’s

implications. Some students may take comfort in these tweets, but when looking for reliable

information and updates, it is best to rely on the official Bryant University account, whose tweets

remain straightforward and factual.