Cold days and nights in Troy make for heated Senate meetings in the Union. I want to openly thank Doctors Peterson and Gabrielle, the provost and vice-provost respectively, for attending the Student Senate meeting this past Monday to discuss the new commencement participation policy. I look forward to continuing to build and strengthen direct communication between the Student Senate and the administration in the remainder of my term and beyond.
Doctors Peterson and Gabrielle did a great job of presenting the policy, and answering a wide array of questions from the Senate, some tough and loaded, and in the discussion afterwards their frankness was noted and appreciated. It was after the discussion that the Senate drafted and issued a resolution included somewhere in this volume of The Poly outlining opposition to the policy change in its current form.
This Senate Resolution, in my personal opinion, is a statement not only on this particular issue, but goes further and hints at a bigger problem. Student feedback and buy-in must be integrated before major policy changes that directly affect students are put into effect and that input needs to carry through to the final implementation.
I supported the ban on freshmen parking (with key exclusions), for example, but I did not support the original roll out or implementation. And in the end the administration had to backtrack to a compromise and delay it for a year. Imagine if the Student Senate had passed a resolution that somehow endorsed some level of a ban. Then there would have not been added frustration, but student ownership.
Or take the case of the DOSO move. This change reflected very late integration of a key student aimed decision. There was no student input drawn before the decision was finalized, and it was only after a great deal of student outcry that the decision was delayed. Frankly, some students would argue that the DOSO has outgrown the facilities in the Troy building. There are some very substantial benefits to moving, and if students had been drawn into those discussions early on and presented compelling evidence, maybe instead of adding to the frustration many students feel when it comes to policy changes at RPI, we could have put this as a feather in our cap “Top hat” of joint effort and collaboration.
It will be very interesting to see how the Senate statement is received and what the reaction will be by students, as well as the administration. We, as students, cannot escape our responsibility and faults for the breakdown in communication. There are many seats and opportunities to voice student concerns that are underutilized at best by students.
As your Grand Marshal, I challenge more students to come and get involved in your student government. Stop resting on your laurels and complaining about everything that happens around here and roll up your sleeves, come to a Senate meeting, committee meeting, or simply meet with me or any other senator, and not only voice your concerns, but do something about it. There is a Student Senate meeting every Tuesday at 9 pm in the Union Room 3202. I hope to see you there next week.
