PARLIAMENTARIAN JOSHUA ROSENFELD REVIEWS Senate rules of order procedures.Grand Marshal Marcus Flowers ’16 opened the first Senate meeting of the semester by welcoming back members both old and new.
The first order of business was appointing a new Web Tech Group chair. Flowers nominated Justin Etzine ’18 to the position. Etzine explained that he has been on the committee since coming to RPI. He feels that the output of WTG has waned, and that there are many things that can be done to improve the output. One such proposal was to change meetings to hackathon style meetings, which would allow members to get more work done on projects in a “relaxed and fun environment.”
Etzine also hoped that since the Rensselaer Center for Open Source Software is being restructured to take on fewer and larger projects, the WTG could pick up the slack. Their projects would focus on those that would benefit the community internally. The motion passed 10-0-5.
Next, committee reports reviewed meeting times and upcoming projects for the year. One issue that arose was the inability of the Rules & Elections to pass a handbook for freshmen elections due to a lack of members. Paul Ilori ’17 urged the Senate to resolve the issue quickly.
President of the Union Nick Dvorak ’16 spoke in front of the Senate on behalf of Ines Roman ’16, who was appointed as a new Executive Board representative. Dvorak said he has confidence in her abilities, and that her role in UPAC Sound as Rentals Chair would provide valuable experience for the E-Board. The motion passed 15-0-1.
In new business, graduate student Timothy Krentz was appointed as the senate representative R&E. His previous experience from the Judicial Board was noted by Ilori, who supported the appointment of Krentz. This motion was passed 14-0-2.
Flowers concluded the meeting by reminding the Senate that two petitions, Locked Tuition and Preferred Names, had reached the required 250 signatures and would be presented in the coming weeks. With that, the first Senate meeting of the semester concluded.