Vice President Knowles gave an overview of the plan in a slideshow presentation. These reviews are being conducted for all performance plan initiatives; however, suggestions and questions from the Student Senate were important for this plan, especially before its submission to President Jackson and her Cabinet.

All the performance plans support the primary goal of The Rensselaer Plan—that we should be a top-tier world class technological research university. More specifically, a student life mission was stated in the presentation in which Rensselaer committed itself to: support and assist students with their personal and academic success, create enthusiastic alumni, and educate the leaders of tomorrow to change the world.

In an effort to improve the university and achieve the student life goal, the plan calls for an emphasis on revising budgets, having faculty and staff recruitment and development, providing a leadership education, and making research a higher priority within the university at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

Along with that mission came the mention of more support for graduate education and the undergraduate plan, highlighting the Office of First-Year Experience, the undergraduate experience, enrollment management, diversity in programs, and athletics. In addition to that, campus culture, health and safety, diversity, student development, and customer service are all considered critical and integral to achieving the student life mission and to improving the quality of student life.

In the effort to expand the graduate resources, Knowles said there are two new houses on Peoples Avenue for graduate students. On the undergraduate housing front, there are talks about theme housing, communities centered on learning, and more faculty interaction in the residence halls. Another new initiative is the idea of a class dean. This dean will work with a representative from each of the five schools on campus to assist the class in its success. Socially, this plan looks to strengthen greek life and commends the proactive relationship statement put in place this past academic year. The school is looking to bring more events to campus, such as the recent O.A.R. concert to foster spirit.

Currently, Rensselaer is looking to increase its undergraduate applicant pool to 10,000. Along with that the administration is looking to vary the academic program, especially in art and music. This is a big priority in the student life plan, because as Vice President Knowles stressed, “Diversity allows us to become global citizens.”

The appearance of the school is changing during this renaissance with the completion of the EMPAC building, improvement of the Union facilities, and construction of the East Campus Athletic Village. According to Vice President Knowles, these will all help and foster the already large number of clubs and sports that inhabit the campus.

Following the slideshow, the “cross-cutting review” began, and student senate members posed questions of Knowles and the student life deans and directors. Many issues came up, the first being off-campus jurisdiction and the Institute’s response with the city government. Knowles explained that Rensselaer’s responsibility to students is to make sure they are not treated unfairly by the city government. The students’ rights are protected off campus, but they need to act responsibly because they are also a part of the greater community. Along with that, the subject of off-campus housing and RPI Rentals was brought up. Knowles responded by saying that more than 25 homes have been purchased and over $10 million has been invested in the city of Troy. According to him, the relationship between the city of Troy and RPI is no longer “they and us,” but one of unified force because university leaders elevate and contribute to the city.

A long and hefty discussion also ensued during the question period about greek life and the greek system on campus. The question posed was whether or not the administration had any plans for restructuring and increasing resources for greeks to make the system a national model of excellence. Knowles responded by posing his own questions, asking: where the greeks are in leadership positions, where they are involved in community service, how the quality of the house is, whether the recruitment is led by alcohol or principle, the quality of their GPA’s, the relationships with the greek houses and their community neighbors, and what value greeks add to the campus.

The administration has also assessed the risk management associated with greek life; houses need sustainability, consistency, and continuity. However, according to Dean of Students Mark Smith, judicial action against houses that have problems or break rules is not the answer because it is reactive and not proactive. The issue at hand is how to be proactive and how the administration can cooperate with the greek system. The greeks in the audience responded by saying that the houses are not ready for staff and faculty involvement within the system, and the dean of students also expressed that if the faculty and staff do get involved, the greek system will no longer be a democracy.

Also discussed was the perception that the fraternities were especially in it for themselves, not for the system as a whole. Houses must learn to support each other and the greek system, or else it will lead to problems and disintegration. In the end, Knowles said that students should want to be greek for the right reasons, and he also said that the Institute will compromise with the chapters, but that it will not endanger its students.