The first thing that came to mind when I read this blog post was using "IlliniBucks" at the local bars on campus. It is no mystery that the University's social scene revolves around the bars, The Red Lion and KAMS. These bars constantly take cover and constantly, night in and night out, have lines that sometimes take up to an hour to enter the bar. On top of that, you have bar employees trying to cut the line with their friends, which adds added stress to the line, but also to the bar employees actually working on a given night. In my opinion, if the university gave away this sort of currency to the students, I would use it on the bars because then I would not have to show up early to avoid the lines and cover fees. The perfect candidate for this who should be allocated the most amount of IlliniBucks would be somebody who goes to the bar more frequently than the average student.
For example, I know certain people on campus who go to the same bar, The Red Lion, six nights a week, they would go on Sunday but it's closed. They spend copious amounts of money on bar tabs at these specific bars and I believe students who have the ability to go out out every night and still maintain the ability to balance their workload or at least stay afloat academically should be awarded the most. The bar could come up with some sort of system or mobile application, which will keep tally on how much they are spending a week. In return, they get a proportionally equal amount of "IlliniBucks". The University would give these "IlliniBucks" who would allocate them to their "best clients", essentially. So basically, the University is paying these students to go out for free, which is similar to students receiving financial aid for academic success.
There could be a variety of issues, for example this could perpetuate students to actually go out more and thus negatively affect their academics. Additionally, everybody could end up doing this and the entire idea of having this sort of "VIP" line would fall apart. Also if people start going out every night for these bucks, the overall academic prestige of the university would crumble. In terms of the price, if the price were too low, some people may be deterred because they might not believe their marginal utility is worth going through the trouble of obtaining these bucks. If the price is too high, there would be a lot of competition because then everyone would want in because there worth more and people would want them more.
This same situation could be completely opposite and work at the Undergraduate Library here right on campus. Students who visit the library the most, print the most, check out the most books, or even to browse the web would be awarded the most bucks by libraries and it would allow students to get late night seating during finals (VIP seating), jump the printing line, or other benefits. If the price were too low, it would be similar to the bars were students would not think they are worth it and may decide to choose to stay in where distractions are. Additionally, if the price were too high the libraries could become overcrowded and unproductive. While I may not be the perfect student, I would take advantage of this because I am so much more productive in a library setting as compared to a non-educational building and I prioritize having my own table in the basement of the UGL.
Since you've talked about drinking and student social life elsewhere, I am not surprised about what you wrote that way. But, did it occur to you that these are private commercial interest that are unaffiliated with the university. The various vendors themselves might come up with some scheme like this, but the university can at best control university function, not the private sector.
ReplyDeleteOn your Library example, what is it that you think is scarce where the Illinibucks might be used - reserving a book or a DVD when there are other patrons who also want it. You talked about late night seating during finals. I don't quite understand that. During the rest of the semester I can understand going to the Library as a quiet space. But during finals can't your apartment be a quiet space then?
I agree with your first paragraph. I believe it was not a bad example and think it could actually work. I have seen these lines before at bars, they are absolutely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteWell the problem with being in my apartment, for example, is that my roommates can get noisy. Additionally, the walls in my apartment are extremely thin. I can hear my roommate using his iPhone typing while I'm upstairs with my room locked. It's extremely frustrating.
Additionally, I believe the University could actually benefit from this. If you are allowing campus bars to allocate these bucks, when it comes down to finals and midterms, those who did their work, and went to class should be rewarded by their college. I am at the library frequently, the basement of the UGL is somewhere you can find me 4 times a week because there is zero noise. There are many libraries that are loud and many apartments are just too noisy.
ReplyDeleteI think that some books that are required by classes but can be checked out a library provide the largest amount of scarcity because everybody needs these books. So in that sense, these bucks would be best for the "bucks". DVDs are also scarce because students sometimes need to watch movies outside of class and when that happens everybody is hurrying to get these movies.
I like your example of renting books from the library. The demand for books can often exceed the supply. On several occasions, I have gone to the bookstore only to find that the book I need is on back order. Perhaps Illinibucks would be useful in reserving books both at the bookstore or a library. Similarly, Illinibucks could be used to reserve study rooms or tables at the UGL. If the price is set too high, students are perhaps unfairly put at a disadvantage. Conversely, if the price is low, students demand for these tables would increase but not all students would be able to access the tables.
ReplyDeletei liked your though about how this could be used at on campus bars. i have noticed that there are actually some apps that have come out recently that give the user the ability to cut lines at the bar. though these apps are not linked to the university, it definitely shows that there is a big demand for people wanting to skip lines at bars. also good point with the study rooms at the library. this would be very useful at the UGL where it is one of the loudest libraries on campus, but has study rooms. these study rooms are often hard to come by and illinibucks could definitely help out with that
ReplyDelete