Today marks the one-year anniversary of one of the most tragic events in our nation’s history. It would be impossible for me to capture all of the emotions surrounding this event in this column. I think it is important to let each person mourn this awful tragedy in their own way. I can’t help but remember, though, the climate on campus during and in the days following the event. Without a second thought, students with tears in their eyes and in complete shock and disbelief rushed to the DCC to give blood. In the days following, students worked hard to build an atmosphere of understanding. We worked hard to understand the different cultures in this incredibly diverse community. Most importantly, we came together. It made me proud to be a student here and a member of this community. God bless everyone as they remember this day in their own way.

RPI is also spending a lot of time and money improving buildings and the quality of life for students. Students don’t often hear about these projects and one of the Senate’s objectives this year is to make sure that you know what the school is doing to improve the campus and how you can contribute. I spent some time talking about campus projects in my last column and I’d like to follow up by discussing more improvements that have been completed and improvements planned for the next few years.

Last year, students voiced their concern over the lack of lights around the Union. Over the summer the exterior lighting was upgraded with the installation of new fixtures. The women’s locker room in the Armory has been upgraded. The skylight of the Robinson Pool is in the process of being replaced and is about 95 percent complete. As veteran students know, the air conditioning unit in Sage 3303 has been a long-lasting problem. Students voiced their concern last year and that concern was relayed to the administration. The system has been replaced. RPI has purchased new bleachers for the football field. They will be installed in early October. Finally, new kitchens were installed in Colonie Apartments.

There is a lot of work being done to improve the living conditions at RPI both for undergraduate and graduate students. As mentioned last week, by the fall of 2003 all of the freshman halls will be renovated or upgraded. Some major renovations were completed just this past summer. Beginning next year and continuing on an ongoing basis, all of the upperclass dorms will be renovated (correction from last week). In addition, RPI is building a new upper-class residence hall that will have about 200 beds. RPI will also be renovating an existing building to create new graduate housing.

As you can see, there is quite a bit of activity, in addition to the construction of the new buildings, to improve the quality of life at RPI. In addition to the facility improvements we will be making great strides to improve the quality of education. As mentioned last week, we have begun work on restructuring the advising system, evaluating curriculum changes, and making sure that students have an opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns.