Student Union and the Social Programming Board announced a new nomination process for the Trending Topics program, Feb. 17. The updates are designed to increase student engagement and attendance, which have been low in the past.

Photo by Jiyoon Kang

Under the new model, any student or student group will be able to nominate up to two speakers through an initial nomination form. Once the form closes, SPB and Campus Life will compile a list of all the suggested speakers and check their pricing and availability. SPB will also vet each speaker with the same processes used for the WILD and Comedy Show artists and entertainers.

SU will use this information to put together a survey—similar to the ones used for WILD and Comedy—to ultimately determine which speakers will be invited to campus. The nominating student or student group, alongside other students that may be interested, will be able to collaborate with SPB on programming surrounding the event.

“Through these changes, we aim to include the student body throughout the process,” SU Vice President of Programming Charlotte Pohl wrote in a statement to Student Life. “We hope that by involving students from the beginning nominations through the final programs, students will be more engaged and interested in Trending Topics.”

Increasing Trending Topics attendance is a priority for SU and SPB, given the high cost of the program.

“These events cost so many thousands of dollars that if you don’t get a lot of people to come to the event, it’s kind of hard to justify spending that much money for such an expensive speaker,” SPB Finance Director Shelly Gupta explained.

During SU’s annual general budget session, it was suggested that funding for Trending Topics be cut due to low student attendance at past events and other competing priorities. However, the program was ultimately funded for $150,000.

“Some of the past Trending Topics speakers have been really cool, but I’ve noticed a huge variation in attendance between different events,” sophomore Stephanie Ren said. “Hopefully getting the entire student body involved in the nomination process will lead to a lineup of speakers that can draw a broad audience.”

By actively including the voice of the student body in the decision making process, SU hopes to increase attendance at Trending Topics events.

“We believe that by giving the students a say and a stake in the events, they will be much more likely to attend and engage with the programs,” Pohl wrote. “Also, shifting the decision making power from Treasury—a group of students—to the entire student body makes it possible to truly gauge student interest which, in turn, should increase attendance.”

Last year, SPB received 37 nominations for Trending Topics speakers from just 20 student groups. This year, the form has already surpassed that number of submissions, and it will remain open until March 6.

“My goal personally is to get at least 100 responses—I think that’s definitely doable [given] that we already have almost 50 and it’s only been a couple of days,” Gupta said. “That would be a good amount of people to then filter through and vet and make the survey from. And if there’s more than 100, that’s great.”