A little over a year ago, I sat down with Lady Apollo to discuss a plan for my GM campaign that would impact student life at RPI for the better. Friends and faculty cautioned that this vision would require great feats of heroism on my part, with little support coming from the student body. Still, I saw a golden opportunity to make a difference with a new and innovative president taking over that Fall, and several initiatives already under way. With wide eyes, I hoped my impact would be lasting and reach the broadest range of student interests possible, but by late November I still had no idea how to accomplish this feat. Then the answer came from a most unexpected group—the vice president for student life search committee.
When informed I would be sitting on the committee charged with recommending to the president who shall oversee all aspects of student life at Rensselaer, I was excited. Here was the way in which I could leave a more permanent footprint on the student body I represented. So the GM gets to interview a bunch of soon-to-be administrators—big deal, right? Wrong.
The office of the VP of student life is not only intertwined with every aspect of the academic, social, and personal lives of students, but has the power and resources to ensure that memories, friendships, and meaningful experiences are abundantly had by all attending our Institute. The VP must keep a watchful eye on the academic side of student life, maintaining the rigors of a Rensselaer education while guiding the necessary evolution to stay at the forefront of technical institutes. Social aspects reach into The Rensselaer Plan, athletics and the greek system, while focusing on how to enhance quality of life issues like residence life and programming (as in guest speakers and concerts, not CS stuff). This individual must keep a finger on the pulse of the student body, while seeking out issues and concerns that students face on a daily, or less regular, basis.
I have accepted my charge as a committee member and have begun to sift through the pile of applicants replying to the ad campaign the committee conducted, but I need help. In the interest of reaching the most students, and approving of the absolutely best qualified candidate, I request feedback on the qualities and visions the next VP Student Life of RPI should embrace. Opinions on the ideal person’s background experience, interests inside and outside of work, and strategy for enhancing the quality of life here, will be greatly appreciated and considered when discussion on candidates commences. In addition, anyone experienced with such a task is more than welcome to shed light on my trail, as I am making my way for the first time. All responses should be sent to me at grecoj@rpi.edu, with a mid-February deadline in mind.
One of the concerns raised by the search committee chair Don Millard, millard@rpi.edu, provides a great segue into the student raised "Gripe of the Week" regarding dwindling social interactions on campus. The lacking instances referred to include: random dormitory gatherings resulting in bonding experiences; out-of-class chats with professors on any topic from marriage to dimple-ballots; the occasional "drinks on the prof" at semester’s end; and not using IM to tell your neighbor that you are heading to the Commons for dinner—when you are both right next door. The moral of this story is short: make the most of the social opportunities you have while in college, for they only decrease in number and erode in quality afterward. Besides, face-to-face communication avoids misinterpretation and can lead to more meaningful relations later on; relations that are not typified by emoticons and acronyms.
Listen for "Stewed Government" on WRPI, hosted by yours truly (read me) Wednesdays 6-7 pm. Guests and call-ins abound, I promise a meaningful hour on the airwaves full of hot topics and great music. With that, I rub my barely sweated-on Ravens jersey in Kerry Collin’s face, who now claims a separated shoulder caused his four interceptions—boo-hoo. See you all at the Freakout Saturday for some GM and PU slinging … come watch to find out!
