Illinibucks

This was a fun hypothetical to consider. In Fall 2017 there were 47,826 students; almost 50,000 people in a concentrated area with limited resources often leads to a situation in which there is scarcity or long waits. When brainstorming potential uses for Illinibucks I found the most significant ones to be: mental health appointments (specifically at McKinley), class registration, and space/tables in study buildings (often Grainger, the UGL, Siebel, the Transportation Building, etc.). 

Mental health appointments and the difficulty of being able to book one is something that personally affects me quite a lot. I’ve noticed that, as the years have passed (I’m a senior now), it’s gotten harder and harder to find availability. Even harder is finding an appointment within the timeframe of a month from calling. This is something I know to be extremely detrimental for many of my friends/peers who suffer from mental health issues, and thus I think it’s a prime candidate for Illinibucks. Offering those who truly need it some way to communicate with administration and thereby get in to see someone sooner seems like a noble use for Illinibucks. 

Class registration is a terrifying, anxiety-ridden process. Everyone I know (including myself) plans their schedule far ahead of their timeslot, only to frantically input the classes into their real schedule the minute they can. Classes that aren’t at 8 a.m across the quad are in high demand, especially those with high average GPA’s and glowing RateMyProfessor reviews. Illinibucks would allow students to form a schedule at least a little bit better suited to their abilities/conveniences. 

I live about a block away from Grainger, which means it is almost as convenient as just studying in my bedroom. This leads to me visiting Grainger often, which in turn leads to me angrily muttering as I walk by the dozens of people sleeping at tables/cubicles. I think being able to use Illinibucks to reserve a nice big table with outlets at a study destination would be extremely valuable to those who enjoy working in these environments. 

I would spend my Illinibucks on all three of these things if possible, as all are very real current issues in my student life. Seeing as the “prices” might vary, I would definitely be most willing to splurge on being able to meet with my psychologist in a timely manner. My next priority would be class registration, meaning study spaces would be the area I would spend the least Illinibucks. 

I think that the misapplication of administered prices could lead to a reversal of the intended effects of the Illinibucks. If the price is too low, those that find the use valuable will use most/all of their Illinibucks on it, meaning there would be just as much of a wait as there might be now. Excessively high prices would basically discourage students to use their Illinibucks freely and would probably lead to no one using their bucks on the specific use, which would also lead to equivalent lines. A good way to gauge the demand for these usages is to simply track the excess demand- are there more people willing to pay Illinibucks for study space? We could both add extra tables in empty conference rooms while also setting a price that reflects the demand. 

I think the best way to handle this would be to make “tiers” of spending: for example, in regards to mental health appointments, there could be an extremely high price for appointments within the following week, with cheaper slots farther down the line. There should also be rules that curb abuse of the system, like only allowing table reservations if there are 3 or more people in your group, etc.