A member of Student Association President Arielle Geismar’s executive branch launched an initiative at the beginning of the fall that creates a platform for students to propose ideas to the SA.
Jack Palaian — who serves as one of Geismar’s senior policy advisors — said he created the Idea Lab in an effort to help the SA “better the student experience” because it serves as a channel for people to submit ideas to student leaders, regardless of how well-formed they are. Palaian said once a student submits an idea, the SA has the ability to point students toward campus resources they may have not known about, or to loop in the necessary people to make a change.
He said the Google form allows the SA to identify new issues that they were unaware of, and prioritize problems that are receiving the most requests.
“It is important for students to have the best access they can to people that can make change so that their voices are heard,” Palaian said.
Palaian said every student who submits an idea proposal will receive a personal email response from one of the senior policy advisors, putting the sender in contact with University resources or telling the sender that Geismar’s team began to discuss the idea and the next steps they are planning to take.
“At the end of the day, the Student Association’s job is to provide for student life and be the vessel of communication between students and administration,” Palaian said.
Palaian said he first got inspiration for the project at his internship at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority over the summer, as they allowed employees to give feedback on what they thought would improve the customer experience. He said many of the Metro’s recent initiatives like updated signage and the addition of new lights came from employees’ feedback.
Geismar declined to comment on the amount of requests the Idea Lab has received as to not influence anyone’s decision to submit an idea, but said they have received a “pretty good amount.” She said a complaint submitted to the Idea Lab about the blockade of a pathway in Kogan Plaza sparked a conversation with University administrators that led to officials installing a metal walkway and providing a shortcut for students.
Geismar said the Idea Lab is a part of an effort to make the SA more approachable for students and allow them to voice their concerns to the governing body. She said the SA has the ability to drastically “move the needle” for many small things and hopes students will utilize the platform to allow the SA to fix their problems.
“It’s a part of a larger goal for me to make the SA more accessible to students and to actually use it to connect students and feed projects directly to admin who has the power to make it happen,” Geismar said.
