I joined the Independent Council at the end of my freshman year. I felt the urge to get involved with student government and felt that the Independent Council may be a good start for someone like me, who knew nothing about the process. The IC turned out to be the perfect outlet for airing my concerns as an independent student living on campus. I have enjoyed working on the IC and am now the president.
The Independent Council is a student government body which represents independents, or all of the students who choose not to join a social fraternity or sorority. The IC exists to hear the concerns of these students and support them. The Council’s primary task is to make sure independent students, a group making up roughly 65 percent of the total student population, are represented properly in student government. In the past we have sponsored events, such as pool tournaments and comedy shows performed by RPI’s own Sheer Idiocy. We hope to hold more such events for students in the coming semester.
Early in the fall semester, the results of our Spring 2003 course surveys will be published in the The Polytechnic. Our surveys have been a resource for students when deciding on electives and professors. We intend on continuing this in the future and are always looking for help in the process.
If you’re interested in the Independent Council, send me an e-mail at ic@union.rpi.edu, stop by one of our meetings, or check out our website at http://independent.union.rpi.edu/. The Independent Council meets on Tuesdays at 9 pm during the semester. The meetings are open to all students, not just independents, so feel free to stop by. Remember to check the pages of The Polytechnic towards the beginning of the semester for the most current results of the IC’s course surveys. Thank you and I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer.
