In an attempt to enhance its communication with the student body, the Student Assembly recently created the Student Innovation Council to put student ideas into practice more effectively.

Matt Koren ’12, co-chair of the council, said that the main goal of the council is “making student ideas happen.” Phoebe Yu ’12 co-chairs the council with Koren. Both of them also work in The Sun’s business department.

“[The] council will act as a mechanism to help the Student Assembly implement ideas proactively, instead [of] reactively,” they stated in a joint e-mail.

The S.A. resolution approved on Sept. 24 embodies the ideas expressed by Koren and Yu, stating that the council’s mission is to serve “as a mechanism for students, student groups and the S.A. to generate new ideas for the betterment of student life, implement said ideas when feasible, as well as evaluate issues concerning the Office of Dean of Students groups, the Student Assembly, and the broader Cornell Community.”

According to Koren, the council’s creation, in great part, is due to the support of Rammy Salem ’10, S.A. president, who aims to improve the communication between the S.A. and its constituency throughout this academic year.

Koren said that, before the creation of the council, “there was not really a mechanism for students to be involved in the S.A. if you were not part of it.” For Koren, the role of the council can be “as big as the scope of the S.A. itself.”

The idea of creating the council, which celebrated its first meeting on Oct. 4, was conceived by Koren and Yu themselves, who are both first-year transfer students. According to Koren, every Thursday council representatives will give a one-minute presentation to the S.A. including all the ideas discussed during their most recent meeting.

Right now, Koren said, the council is focused on launching the new S.A. website, which promises to include more interactive and practical features to students.

For Roneal Desai ’13, S.A. freshman representative, the initiative of creating the council resulted after “we [S.A. members] realized that there was a lack of push for [student] ideas.” According to Desai, the S.A. was struggling in the collection and implementation of new ideas. Thanks to the efforts of Koren and Yu, Desai said he believes the new council is going to become a “think tank” for the S.A.

“The Council will serve as a more accessible branch between the student body and the Student Assembly. It aims at bridging the gap between the two bodies,” Desai said. “Through this council, the S.A. hopes to end the negative association of its members as an exclusive elite of ‘politicians’ that separate themselves from the student body.”

Kent L. Hubbell ’67, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students, who was present when the creation of the council was approved by the S.A., said that the initiative is “a great idea.” Hubbell said he believes that the council demonstrates the S.A.’s concern with properly representing the student body and that the administration is eager to hear its ideas. “The S.A. really wants to reach out [to] the student body and this idea is part of that desire,” Hubbell said.

The Student Innovation Council holds open meetings every Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Robert Purcell Community Center. Koren and Yu invited all students interested to attend the meetings and to email them with any ideas or concerns. They can be reached at mek239@cornell.edu and xy82@cornell.edu, respectively.