On Wednesday, Oct. 9, the Students’ Association (SA) will launch its $5K Challenge, an initiative to solicit student proposals to improve campus life. The winning proposal will receive $5,000, which will be drawn from SA’s reserve.
“The whole point of the program is to encourage students to talk to us about what they want from this school,” SA Executive Aide Humma Sheikh said.
Between Oct. 9 and Nov. 1, students can submit proposals online for any project that can be completed using $5,000 and is meaningful to the student body. A committee comprised of SA senators will then shortlist the most feasible projects to share with the student body. In mid-November, students will be able to vote on their favorite proposal. The winning proposal will receive the funding and will hopefully be implemented by the beginning of the spring semester.
Similar initiatives exist at institutions like Yale University, Northwestern University, and Harvard University. Yale’s equivalent program was so successful that its funding was increased to $10,000.
Harvard, for example, bought lawn chairs for its quad, an initiative that both lacks maintenance costs and is readily available for any student on campus to enjoy.
Sheikh hopes that this program will benefit the campus in more ways than just a single specific project. It’s another opportunity for SA to “open up communication” with the student body.
“I’m hoping that at the end of this, we come out with a really cool $5K project,” Sheikh said. “I also hope this will … grow. Hopefully it can create something bigger than a $5K project.”
Remus is a member of the class of 2016.
