A friend recently quipped that our campus has finally entered the beta phase. Perhaps gone are the days of unstable wifi, questionable water quality and unbearably cold rooms. Bringing these problems to a close provides an exciting array of opportunities for improving our new campus in meaningful ways. The investments made over the next several months will have a lasting impact on the Saadiyat Island campus. These potential investments increase the importance of student involvement.

The longest-lasting decisions about campus spaces will be made as these spaces are redesigned and shifted to meet student needs. Already, work is underway to improve the availability of furniture outdoors and recreate student activity spaces. Just last week, a student raised the possibility of acquiring a potter’s wheel to permit more craft on campus. Now is the time for such ideas to percolate, to ensure that the best investments are made before space and resources become limited.

Other relevant policy decisions are being considered across the campus. With the opening of the Torch Club and the forthcoming Community Pool, students have raised the prospect of having limited student access to these facilities before the spaces are permanently dedicated to faculty and staff exclusive use. Other students are seeking permission for holding barbecues on campus.

The pathway of campus spaces and policies remains uncertain. Without the fetters of tradition and precedent, we are blessed with unmatched opportunity. Ability to influence administrative decisions adds to the potential for developments favoring students.

The aforementioned issues may seem insignificant. And, if that is the case, the problem lies in the occasional lack of community engagement. Far too many students have great ideas for our campus, but lack the crucial ambition for effecting change because of a dearth of time or an unwillingness to deal with bureaucracy. Despite this, it is up to all students to remain resilient in pushing for their initiatives and courageous enough to bring their ideas to the table.

The distinction between class levels is generally irrelevant. No one should feel that the amount of time they’ve spent on campus makes their ideas or abilities more or less worthy. In fact, this past semester, I was most inspired by the dedication and ambition of the Sustainability Committee, which is largely run by freshmen. So, regardless of whether you are departing at the end of this semester or three years down the road, I encourage you to get involved with Hall Council, art programs, Student Interest Groups, Athletics or whatever it may be in order to push our campus one step closer to being the best it can be.