New Union room registration system is inconvenient

The Carolina Union Office of Events Management implemented a new — and unnecessary — online room reservation system last semester.

The new process, which is meant to improve room reservation efficiency, changes the steps required to reserve a room online.

Students who wish to use a room are forced to watch a 20-minute video, take a 13-question quiz and wait one business day in order to receive their username to begin reserving rooms online.

While this is only a one-time inconvenience, it is an unnecessary one.

The video is split into two segments, the first of which focuses on making reservations. This part of the video includes information that is, to say the least, a waste of time.

For example, the video instructs viewers in the highly technical art of chair arrangement. Finally, students will know what a “U-shaped” setup looks like.

The second part of the video discusses the online system for reserving rooms. This part of the video could actually be useful to someone who finds the reservation website confusing and cluttered.

The video shouldn’t be required and neither should the quiz.

However, “quiz” might be too strong a word given that students can scroll back and forth from the questions to the video with no penalty.

The whole process seems to be a barrier to students that adds little of value.

A registration as inconvenient as this could actually deter people from using the Student Union in the first place.

Student groups could judge it easier to just find an empty classroom and meet there, rather than go through the Union.

The system makes it harder than it should be to do something simple.