ELISE ROMBERGER ’ 15 and ALLI MORGAN ’16 PROPOSED their changes to the Executive Board regarding RPI Ambulance’s constitution.After not meeting last Thursday, this week’s Rensselaer Union Executive Board meeting had a lot on their agenda. The meeting started with a food discussion among the board members, and that discussion was followed by several clubs coming before the board with different proposals and updates.
The food discussion was short, but many clubs have come before the board about the restrictions placed on their reception funds. So far, in the case of The Players and The Poly, these were case-by-case motions. In the next few weeks, the E-Board hopes to have a solution that can be applied to all clubs.
Rensselyrics was the first club of the night to speak before the board. Last April, the Rensselyrics, a co-ed a capella group, started recording for their new CD. Currently, they do not have all of the funds available to finish the project. They have half of the funds needed. They came to the E-Board to ask for a loan, which they have full intentions of paying back. It has been eight years since the last CD. In a 14-0-0 motion, the Union E-Board approved the loan of $1320.04 to complete CD mastering and production.
The next group to meet with the board was TALKS. TALKS runs a lecture series, and last year they held one in Biotech where over 200 people came. Modeled after TED Talks, TALKS works within the Union Speaker’s Forum. However, bringing in guest speakers requires a lot of money. In a 14-0-0 motion, the Union E-Board approved the reallocation of funds from the Union Speaker’s Forum.
Union Programs and Activities Committee Cinema, the next club to meet with the E-Board, brought the discussion back to food. UPAC Cinema is responsible for the movie showings for the community and students on Friday and Saturday nights. With three showings a night, members work from 6 pm to 2:30 am, an eight to nine hour job. In the past, UPAC Cinema rewarded their members with pizza for giving up their time on weekend nights. As a result, they came to the Union E-Board to ask for their food budget back. No motion was passed. The Union E-Board is still in the process of deciding how to act regarding the food budgets.
After UPAC Cinema, RPI Ambulance came to discuss changes to their constitution. The E-Board was pleased to see clubs updating their constitution and in a 14-0-0 motion, they approved the changes.
Design for America came in after RPI Ambulance. Since it was similar to RPI Design Collective, Design of America proposed to merge with DECO in order to share their budget and achieve their goals. Design for America, a national organization, requires projects to be done by the university clubs. Currently, there are four projects in the works and Design for America requires funding to make the projects happen. DECO only has one member currently; the rest graduated last year. That one member also happens to be a member of Design for America. As a result, the Union E-Board felt it would be easier for Design for America to merge with DECO, since DECO already has an established budget. In a 14-0-0 motion, the Union Eboard approved $1039 to DECO for funding events, materials and a Design for America instructor. Furthermore, 100 colored copies will also be available to the club.
UPAC Sound was the last group to come before the board. They were looking to purchase new sound equipment to replace what they currently have. They used to be in West Hall, but had to move. As a result, all of the sound equipment left in West Hall had to remain because it could not be taken out easily, resulting in less available equipment. The board passed a 14-0-0 motion to give $1050 to UPAC sound to purchase a replacement sound system, and the old equipment transferred to Rensselaer Music Association.
Closing reports and remarks from the President of the Union Erin Amarello ’15, and Director of the Union Joe Cassidy, concluded the meeting.