In 2004, a few students at Stanford University sat watching the presidential elections and thought to themselves that even though they were only college students, they could make better public policy than what was being spewed by politicians.

Together with students from Yale University, they formed the beginnings of what is now the Roosevelt Institution, the nation's first student-run think tank with chapters now spanning across the United States in many universities.

Charles Palmares, the communications director for UC Davis' new chapter of the Roosevelt Institution, said he feels students can really contribute to make worthwhile public policy recommendations.

"The Roosevelt Institution believes that many students are supremely knowledgeable in a variety of fields and possess invigorating and intelligent ideas that can potentially change the world for the better, despite the fact that they are still receiving their education," he said in an e-mail interview.

"As a result, the Roosevelt Institution was created to facilitate the process of creating public policy through college students, and, just as importantly, to see that those public policy recommendations are noticed and taken seriously by those who have the clout to pursue the materialization of those recommendations," he said.

Kyle Atwell, one of the original three founders of the Roosevelt Institution at UC Davis, said though students may feel like they aren't able to connect their ideas with any sort of governmental change, they really can make a difference.

"I think a lot of students feel disenfranchised from the government. This is an opportunity to get out and discuss the problems and potential solutions that current affairs as well as current policies might have," he said. "The students are the future solutions. We're trying to bring student policy ideas forward and disseminate the information we will produce."

The Roosevelt Institution became official last spring, according to Atwell, when over 80 UC Davis students signed up to be a part of it.
Today, an event dubbed the "Fireside Chats" will be hosted by the Roosevelt Institution on the upper floor of Woodstock's Pizza at 7 p.m. Paul Burow, president of the UC Davis chapter, will facilitate the meeting.

"Anyone who wants to discuss their ideas, from the practical to the insane, are welcome," Atwell said.

"The premise of [the 'Fireside Chats'] is really idea-generation," Burow said. "We'll be breaking down the barriers between students while discussing how to solve our generation's biggest problems."

Today's "Fireside Chat" is the first meeting of three that will take place on the following two Thursdays.

"It'll be a really casual environment," Burow said. "We want to make sure students feel comfortable bringing their ideas forward. We'll have an ice-breaker and break off into small groups to discuss and write down ideas we come up with."

Once the ideas are written down, they'll be voted on and sent to the national organization, where they will weed through and compile the best. These will be turned into brief reports which will be distributed to politicians and may be published.

"It's a good way for students to try to make a change in the way things are done and for students to become more socially and politically active," Burow said. "Students during Vietnam had their way of bringing change. This is ours. This is our generation's way to change the world."

Membership to the Roosevelt Institution is open to all UC Davis students. For more details, visit davis.rooseveltinstitution.org.

Click here to read the article from The California Aggie's website.