Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all moved in easily and are enjoying your classes thus far.
For those of you who are just starting your first semester, good luck! If you’re interested in participating in student government, the Rules and Elections Committee began their informational sessions yesterday, and there will be sessions held every weekday at 5 pm in the Student Government Suite on the third floor of the Union until September 22. Remember that you must attend a session before you can declare your candidacy and start campaigning!
Student government has already started off the Fall semester strong, and I would like to share updates on both progress made and plans moving forward. The Senate’s committee chairs and I have been meeting with administrators and members of the President’s cabinet to discuss important priorities for our student body. We are working to schedule regular standing meetings with these administrators to normalize the Senate’s ability to provide honest feedback to the many departments and divisions at RPI. Finally, President of the Union Matt Rand and I have been working closely with the Division of Human Resources on the hiring process for a new Director of the Union. We hope to be sharing updates with the campus on the process in the near future!
This past Saturday, the Senate went through training, which was aimed to provide senators with the tools they’ll need to represent you all. Immediately after, we held our first meeting of the semester. We enacted the Class of 2021 Freshman Elections Handbook, which can be found at https://poly.rpi.edu/s/5hgan, and we appointed students to sit on an advisory committee on campus safety.
Starting on September 11, the Senate will be holding general meetings each Monday at 8 pm in the Union’s Shelnutt Gallery. These meetings are open to the public; bring a guest! Get a bird’s eye view of the current status of Senate projects presented by committees, participate in debates on legislation on the floor, or share your thoughts and feedback during the “invitation to speak” portion.
Finally, as you might have seen, Parking and Transportation Services have introduced a brand-new late night shuttle! The route runs every Friday and Saturday night from 8 pm until 4 am, and the route includes parts of the existing east and west routes, along with some downtown locations. I think this addition will be very helpful for students looking to explore downtown and get back home safely. It has been exciting watching this project progress from just an idea a year ago. Thank you to Alex da Silva, Les Arras, and all of Auxiliary Services for their efforts to establish this new service for students.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, ideas, or concerns, please always feel free to reach out to me at gm@rpi.edu!