The Rensselaer Union Executive Board has been hard at work. Before the break, the Board met and reviewed budgets for the Mueller Center, Intramural sports, ICA/Varsity Athletics, and the Union Administration. This past Friday and Saturday, the Board returned to campus to review budgets for all Union-funded clubs and anything else remaining. All budgets were released this past Sunday, and appeals will take place this coming Saturday afternoon.

I wanted to take the time to explain the importance of the budgeting process and student communication with E-Board representatives. The Board takes the review process very seriously, and takes a careful look at each line item in every budget. They make sure that activity fee dollars are being spent responsibly, creating an enriched student experience. Each club is budgeted for any essentials to function and a large percentage of money spent goes toward events that involve the entire RPI community. We hope to provide a variety of exciting activities that will encourage students to take advantage of all the activity fee has to offer. Once budgets have been finalized—and after appeals and reviews—all the numbers are used to generate the total fee for the upcoming fiscal year. The Union Annual Report Committee, which is a joint committee of the Student Senate and the E-Board, will put out the UAR, a report that details the budgeting process and how we arrive at a final number for the year. This year, the committee is chaired by Jonathan Stack ’13 and has a variety of members involved in many of the Union’s clubs.

Communicating with your E-Board rep is an essential part of passing information to the Board as a whole, specifically during budgeting. If you find you are dissatisfied with your club’s budget or a decision made by the Board, contact your representative to ask questions. Their job is to act as a liaison between assigned clubs and the Executive Board, to communicate club needs and reasoning behind any E-Board decisions. They are the number one person the Board looks to when reviewing items for budgets. A club’s strongest voice in the budgeting review is their Board rep, and I hope that your E-Board rep has served you well thus far. If you are looking to put together an appeal, I encourage you to speak with both your representative and your Student Activities Resource Person. They may be able to clear up any questions you may have. The entire club’s budget will be reopened for review and the Board will make a final decision regarding any issues.

Lastly, I’d like to put in a quick plug for a great charity event coming up this Friday, January 27. The Clothe-A-Child Date Auction will be held from 9–11 pm in the McNeil Room. All dates receive four tickets to the Big Red Freakout! Please come out and support a great local charity that provides children with warm clothes for winter. Each child that is assisted receives $100 worth of warm clothing. Area merchants work with volunteers who take the children shopping to give them deeply discounted prices which makes the $100 spread even further.

If anyone has any concerns or is interested in getting involved with the UAR, please contact me at pu@rpi.edu.