The Union was founded close to 150 years ago to facilitate intercollegiate athletic competition and foster student activities and interests. It was a need of the students that did not fit directly into the scope of Rensselaer’s mission and priorities at that time. Rensselaer, along with contemporary university thinking, did not recognize the extent to which growth and development occured beyond the lecture halls. Times changed, and the educational missions of universities evolved to encompass a broader approach to education that embraced all aspects of the student experience.

With the evolution of the university mission also came the evolution of the governance of unions nationwide. Many were folded directly into the envelope of student life within collegiate administrations. It could have been the burden of the responsibility that came with the administration and oversight that the expanding Union took on student leaders or the lack of leadership and direction that was provided by student governing bodies; nevertheless, most schools moved to more of a shared leadership model.

As for our school, the operation and oversight of the Rensselaer Union remained directly within student responsibilities. This aspect—while certainly with its flaws and lags in leadership—has created what I believe is one of the most robust and diverse college unions nationwide. If I could cite one principle paramount to the Union continuing our tradition of student governance for another 150 years, it would be that our elected student leaders treat our unique structure to represent students as a privilege, not a guaranteed right. It is an enormous privilege to have such autonomy and trust, requiring an equal amount of responsibility and care. There is no New York State or Federal law granting any student the privileges that we currently enjoy within the operation of the Union.

The Union constitution—while the cornerstone and guide to the Union’s operation—does not supersede the authority of the Board of Trustees. While the Union may be financially independent from the university, we are by no means a lone entity. We are attached at the hip, and our missions not only overlap, but also are dependent upon one another. We are not just a Union of students, but a Rensselaer Union before anything else.

My greatest fear is that someday in our future there will be a time when those responsible for the direction of Rensselaer are forced to re-evaluate what makes us so unique because of students who feel it is their right to administer their activities and advance their agendas without showing any regard to the Institute as a whole. In my experience, the student leaders who derive their authority from a popular election or the Union constitution document have only found frustration in carrying out their agenda. I do not know where this sense of entitlement comes from, but an elected student official only governs that which he has earned the right to. Successful student leaders have earned this right through hard work and the keen understanding of the Union’s role in fulfilling the larger mission of Rensselaer. Above all, successful leaders of our past have carried themselves with a degree of respect and accountability in their actions that must be exhibited before taking a real part in the decision-making process at Rensselaer.

With elections coming in the next week and new student leaders filling their elected roles, I cannot stress this singular message more. We govern because we have been granted that privilege through the grace of the trustees of Rensselaer—not because we have received the majority of our peers’ votes.