Binghamton Policy Project hosted a release party this week to celebrate its 12th-annual edition of the organization’s publication, The Blueprint.

The event, held in Old Union Hall, featured five policy design presentations crafted over the year that proposed “actionable solutions to drive community change.” Binghamton University faculty and Binghamton City Council representatives attended the event. The BPP aims to elevate student voices in the local community through public policy and identify major issues both on campus and in the community to bring about change.

“It’s incredibly refreshing to spend an hour and a half listening to students talk about what they’re passionate about — their ideas regarding policy and impact,” Councilwoman Rebecca Rathmell, who represents Binghamton’s sixth district, said in a statement to Pipe Dream. “I think the greater goal of connecting students to the broader community has such potential for meaningful impact in the future.”

BPP co-presidents Luna Azcurrain, a senior double-majoring in sociology and Latin American and Caribbean studies, and Angelo Pacheco, a senior double-majoring in math and philosophy, politics and law, said that this event was an opportunity for the organization to highlight their policy and celebrate the hard work that goes into The Blueprint.

“The release party is our way to really showcase our policies more deeply, more specifically, with more information,” said Azcurrain.

Some proposals directly aim to change University policy, including advocacy for greater institutional protection for students of varying citizenship statuses. Others were geared toward creating more OCCT bus signs, improving communication about dining health safety and establishing more educational resources for informed off-campus housing

“A big part of making sure that resources are actually effective is educating students that the resources exist in the first place,” Clay Jeon, co-director of production for BPP and a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, said..

The Blueprint also featured a policy to improve the greater community by assisting the Public Defender’s Office in Broome County. Pacheco said that BPP offers an opportunity for students to bring attention to issues they find important.

“I think one of the big struggles people face, when they have an idea and they want to do something or they feel really strongly about something, is they don’t know where to go,” he said.

He explained that support from a group of students who are similarly invested in bringing forward change empowers meaningful action.

Azcurrain added that BPP provides an opportunity to bridge a gap between the University and the Greater Binghamton area For example, one successfully implemented policy was the addition of University Wide Course 104L: Make Binghamton Your Home, a class offered at the University where students learn more about Binghamton and the surrounding areas.

“It helps get students thinking about the outside community, like beyond just campus,” Azcurrain said. “It gets students connected to local organizations and talking to people in local offices, to think beyond the University.

When developing policy, community stakeholders help brainstorm and provide feedback on first drafts and later serve a collaborative role in implementation. According to Pacheco, guidance from outside stakeholders helps bring additional insight to policy creation and helps the BPP members collaborate as a group.

As editor, Jeon has regularly worked with off-campus resources to facilitate production of The Blueprint. He shared that one challenge in ensuring successful publication is managing the budget and timeline constraints.

Over the past few years, BPP has collaborated with Happy Medium, a political science magazine at the University, to mutually improve logistics, finances and audience reach for both publications.

BPP has seen a significant increase in membership and contributors to the publication in the last three years. Notably, this past year, the organization had over 60 interns, in contrast to last year’s 30.

According to Margalit Frank, an intern for BPP and a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, the organization welcomed over 300 general body members throughout the year. Students in the intern role have committed to regular weekly attendance to play a more significant part in policy production.

Pacheco said that the release party provides an opportunity for the ideas in The Blueprint to become more attainable.

“You feel like maybe there is a possibility where we can move forward with implementing these changes little by little,” said Pacheco. “And it’s not just something that you read.”