STC Instagram post generates controversy

By Kristel Erguiza 

Staff Writer 

A recent Instagram post on the Framingham State Student Transportation Center (STC) Instagram generated significant student attention and response about the use of AI at Framingham State for outward facing documents. 

The Framingham STC Instagram posted an AI generated 2026-2027 schedule of the shuttle service. Despite the comments being disabled, the post generated considerable student discourse.

The Instagram post was posted on August 31, 2026. 

Dan Magazu, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, had not heard of the AI post until it had been brought to his attention by The Gatepost. Magazu’s office manages the main Framingham State University accounts that are overseen by his social media team.

Magazu said his team is “working on” refining our social media policies right now and that it’s discouraging but not prohibiting using AI to create a post for their social media.

“We have some social media policies that need a refresh. I do want to get into our best practices about not using artificial intelligence, graphics, things like that … and so we need to do a better job, in my office, to educate those users on those policies, and also maybe updating some policies to address AI.”

Magazu added he had talked to their Marketing Manager, Marissa Hanson, who oversees social media, about “less of a policy and more like guidelines that we want to add in some more clear guidance around AI use and what’s recommended, and what’s not recommended.”

Magazu said, “There is no committee that oversees social media in Magazu’s department. Their Marketing manager gathers other social media managers on campus, especially some of the main accounts like Athletics, alumni, just to hold best practice meetings and talk about trends.” 

Whoever is running the account can post an Instagram post without a review from his office, and “people are responsible for their own content when they sign up for a social media page. They agree to follow the policies of the University,” according to Magazu.

Magazu added, “it’s more of a recommendation not to use AI first, and to explore other options.” 

Kim Galvani, director of Transportation, oversees the Instagram account, the vehicles, the gas, extra shuttle requests, and a myriad of other things. 

When asked about the AI post, Galvani said she had created it, and she had quickly thrown it together before the semester started. 

“As soon as the students came back, they called me out on it,” she said. 

She added, “We normally don’t do that. Normally, we have our own schedule created, and the students that work for me create these schedules as well as part of some of their jobs,”

Galvani apologized and said the AI post was “a fluke” and she took full responsibility. She was asked to do it very quickly, and she said if she had known Canva better, she would have utilized it instead. 

Galvani said the students who work at the STC desk run the social media page, and the student who had control of the social media page took it down as soon as there was backlash.

“All our posts we do in Canva, and we don’t use AI for anything. We have most of the stuff I want to have digitally instead of printing them,” Galvani said. 

Senior Autumn Bailey said that she doesn’t understand why the STC account used AI for the post when it already existed before and they could just update the dates or times. 

“I think in comparison to the other departments, like EXP, they always have super creative videos,” she said.

Senior Peyton Farris, who works at the STC desk in McCarthy Center, said that she did not mind the post, but “at the same time, I feel like it does take artistic integrity away, in some aspects.”

There is no updated Instagram post on the Framingham STC page regarding the schedule for the 2026-2027 school year.