Illinibucks
Allocating each student at the university a fund of Illinibucks could cause ethical problems and essentially only benefit the wealthy students. The concept of having Illinibucks to cut lines can be implemented in many different aspects including registering for classes early, cutting the line to see a professor/TA, skipping the line for football games, renting rooms/technology/books, etc. If I was allotted Illinibucks, the first thing I would spend it on would be for registering for classes earlier. This would allow me to create the perfect schedule and the benefit would last the semester rather than an hour. Then, I would spend it on cutting the line at the book store. The reason I would choose this second is that I like to get the textbooks when the class starts so that I have to opportunity to get a head start in the class and that is when the bookstore is crazy and has thousands of students go through every day. This would allow me to be in and out quickly and guarantee that I’ll have all my textbooks.
On the matter of price, it is hard to determine a direct price for many reasons. If the price is too low, it would lose its value and would be useless. On the other hand, if the price was too high, a significant number of students would not be able to purchase and would only be a privilege for wealthier students. They would be able to purchase as much as they would like, and this would create a problem such that people who couldn’t purchase extra Illinibucks will have to always be pushed to the end of the line. This could mean that they would wait several hours longer than if this was the idea was not implemented. Besides just waiting in line, if people we able to pay for early registration, lower-class students would not be able to get into the classes they need, unless they use all their credits to join the class. Also, if the price was high, lower-class students might sell their bucks at a cheaper price than the university is selling it for. In these cases, student A would sell x amount of Illinibucks to student B so that they can make some money from it.
One problem that arises in my head is that what if every student wants to use their Illinibucks to be first in line? Who is the one that would get that position? Would it be the first one to purchase it, the highest bidder, or a random selection? I also think that certain things would have to cost more Illinibucks than others. For example, if you wanted to have early registration for a class, that would have to cost a larger amount of bucks as compared to renting out a study room because if it ended up costing the same amount, students would spend their bucks on something they deem more important, and in my opinion more students would pick class enrollment over anything.
On the matter of price, it is hard to determine a direct price for many reasons. If the price is too low, it would lose its value and would be useless. On the other hand, if the price was too high, a significant number of students would not be able to purchase and would only be a privilege for wealthier students. They would be able to purchase as much as they would like, and this would create a problem such that people who couldn’t purchase extra Illinibucks will have to always be pushed to the end of the line. This could mean that they would wait several hours longer than if this was the idea was not implemented. Besides just waiting in line, if people we able to pay for early registration, lower-class students would not be able to get into the classes they need, unless they use all their credits to join the class. Also, if the price was high, lower-class students might sell their bucks at a cheaper price than the university is selling it for. In these cases, student A would sell x amount of Illinibucks to student B so that they can make some money from it.
One problem that arises in my head is that what if every student wants to use their Illinibucks to be first in line? Who is the one that would get that position? Would it be the first one to purchase it, the highest bidder, or a random selection? I also think that certain things would have to cost more Illinibucks than others. For example, if you wanted to have early registration for a class, that would have to cost a larger amount of bucks as compared to renting out a study room because if it ended up costing the same amount, students would spend their bucks on something they deem more important, and in my opinion more students would pick class enrollment over anything.
Let me talk about the ethics of this first. The scenario as designed is that all students get an allocation of Illinibucks and there is no additional charge for that. It might be unethical if Illinibucks were transferable, where a rich student might then buy them from a poorer student who needs the money. So they'd have to be non-transferable as well, meaning they were individualized in some way and when used a student ID would have to be presented. Under those circumstances do you still think its use is unethical?
ReplyDeleteOn the bookstore thing, let me note two thoughts. One is that I used to go to the Bookstore in early August to see that the textbook for my course was there. They typically stock up well before the semester starts. So if you were in town early, you could go there before the crowds get there. I agree that it is brutal there during the first week of class. The other point is that if you got the syllabus early, you could then try to buy the books online. Some lab manuals may only be available locally, but textbooks generally have a national market and you can buy them online.
On the course registration, which is what most of your classmates have written about, I'm curious as to whether in the current way of doing things you aren't getting into some of the classes you had wanted, first in Economics, then in other departments. It would be good to document how big an issue this actually is.
If you only get allotted a certain amount and can not purchase more of these illinibucks throughout the semester, than I think it would be ethical. Most students can not come early due to the fact that apartment leases do not start until the weekend before classes start, and most professors do not send an email until a few days before the class starts (and I'm guessing this is because they want to make sure that they have an up-to-date roster so every student receives the email). Some classes I have purchased the textbook online, but workbooks do need to be picked up from the bookstore.
DeleteAs for class registration, I think they do that an odd way. I understand why athletes get to pick their classes first, but I never understood why James Scholars got to pick before everyone. I think it's important that seniors get to chose their classes before underclassman because they might have some classes they need to graduate. To solve the issue of classes being full and classes not having any students, the university should send out a survey to all the students in order to see what classes have a significant amount of students that have intentions on taking it. Then, they could allocate the appropriate amount and would (hopefully) eliminate the current issue.