In collaboration with Chiao Ho and Petrula Vrontikis

As an unattended intervention, we initially thought that the success of the project would be based on how many people would sign up. In that regard, it did well. The timing of a heat wave in Pasadena accelerated participation. This chance occurrence created an immediate solution in to a need that was fresh in the minds of the students.

It was an example of how people feel comfortable joining a movement and are motivated by the momentum of the interest they see. Students felt comfortable enough to provide their email addresses. The question here is whether this willingness to provide personal information was based on the petition being in the context of Art Center or if this behavior as a generational phenomenon.

Overall, we were surprised at the number of signatures we received. We were pleased that the proposal initiated comments about what Art Center students really need. Forceful comments indicate that students want a parking lot more than a pool. A next step may have been to explore these choices further. We let the project go at that point, as we were concerned about getting deeper into the false promises we created. This discussion may have been a very interesting one if students were provided with a blog to debate these ideas. The language in the petition was crafted to say that the pool was a gift and would not cost Art Center anything to build or maintain. This premise guided the participation. An exercise may have been to find out what students thresholds would be if they paid to use a pool or to have a dedicated parking space.