A new decade, year, and semester begins. Welcome back, the winter break was long, but hopefully everyone took advantage of some time to rest and get ready for another term at RPI. It was almost seven weeks of not having to write editorials, so I enjoyed it tremendously…
Since our last Student Senate meeting was after the last Poly of the Fall Semester, I should update you on a few things: The 2010 Judicial Board has been approved, chaired by Michael Lind ’10, and under recommendation of the Rules and Elections Committee, the Student Senate (collaborating with the Dean of Student’s Office and Faculty Advisory Committee) has also approved a new Institute-wide Sign Policy (which will be available on Flagship at http://documents.studentsenate.rpi.edu).
I have been working with students in residence life, greek life, student government, and staff in the Student Life portfolio to schedule student benchmarking trips to evaluate the successes of the residential college model and how we can apply them to Clustered Learning, Advocacy, and Support for Students. Expect more news on this subject as we visit colleges such as Dartmouth College and Yale University, and ultimately create a viewable report and video.
The new selection process for on-campus housing was announced last semester and members of the Student Senate have heard plenty of feedback on the subject. We would like to hear more of your opinions, and that is why tomorrow, January 28, at 8 pm the Student Senate will have an informal discussion of the housing process. Stop by the Student Government Suite in the Student Union to listen in and provide us with your thoughts.
This semester the Student Senate will be approving a new Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities, the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2011, as well as the Elections Handbook for GM Week 2010. As you start this semester, remember the dates for Winter Carnival and Big Red Freakout! The Winter Carnival will be next Saturday, February 6, starting at 11 am at the East Campus Athletic Village. The 33rd annual Big Red Freakout! will be on February 20 at 7 pm in the Houston Field House as Men’s Ice Hockey takes on Princeton.
Finally, I would like to note RPI’s pledge to support the victims of the earthquake that has devastated Haiti. What has become a terrible tragedy is an opportunity for the Rensselaer community to offer their support with a donation-matching program established by the school that will continue through January 31. Visit the Rensselaer news website at http://rpi.edu/news/haiti/index.html for more information on how to help the Haitian people who very much need your help.
As always, feel free to contact me or any member of student government; we’re a community. Stop by the GM/PU office in the Student Government Suite, e-mail me at gm@rpi.edu, or view my tweets at http://twitter.com/rpigm.