Until this week when the vast majority of my involvement and responsibilities on campus will be ripped out of my identity, my path has always been clear. For the first 19 years of my life, that involved going to school, getting good grades, and then getting into college. For the next three, my goal was to become the President of the Union. I decided that I would be the PU on April 29th, 2003, during the 9 am campus tour when the tour guide told us that at RPI they let a group of students be in charge of over $8 million. That sounded like a swell deal to me, so I signed my admissions papers at the front desk and began that quest.

My term over the last year has been an interesting one. Last spring during elections I promised the student body that I would uphold several philosophies and drive certain programs forward. Did I accomplish all of my goals? Nope. Did I accomplish even half? Nope. Under most conditions, it would be reasonable to say that I have failed. Yet—even though I am clearly biased—I believe that the last year has been a successful one for the Union. While several aforementioned goals have yet to come to reality, the programs are well underway and I am confident that next year you will see an exciting number of announcements as a result. The Executive Board and the Union spent a great deal of time exploring and resolving situations as they arose throughout the year. As a result of these unforeseeable issues, we have solidified our positions and interests as a student body in campus media organizations. We have also planned for and agreed to several improvements within the Union itself or facilities which support our interests. During annual budgeting this past January, the Executive Board reinforced budgeting policies and the ideals of the Union by taking calculated risks on new programs and interests on campus, expanding our support for our student athletes, recognizing the quality and value of programs provided to the campus community, and holding our clubs and organizations accountable for the purposes and goals to which they are committed. It is likely that during the year, you disagreed with some of these decisions because of the perceived impact on you or your peers. I am, however, not apologetic for any of the actions which we have taken. As an extremely diverse set of the student community, we made every decision with the well-being of the student body and your overall Rensselaer experience in mind.

During election season last year, I repeatedly stated that the least important position within the Union was that of the President of the Union. I still hold that belief today. It is not the PU who sits among his fellow students as an individual empowered to improve the lives of his peers. It is not the PU who spends hours ensuring that budgets are well-intentioned and proposals are fiscally and ideologically sound. Without the hard work and unwavering dedication of the members and officers of the Executive Board, the PU is nothing but a title. These individuals—in conjunction with the tremendous staff in the Union Administration Office, the Bookstore, and the Athletics Department—form core portions of our RPI community. For their efforts during the last year, I would like to thank: Erik Swanson ’08, Donald Pendagast ’07, Abderrahamane Benghanem ’08, Jeff Teixeira ’09, Jen Scholwin ’07, Amy Moise ’09, Priya Bakhru ’07, Nick Wood ’07, Richard Mooney ’08, Jay Bernardo ’08, Steve Malinski ’08, Cory Isabelle ’09, Brian Farrell ’08, Morgan Wahl ’09, and Waleed Mohamed ’09. It has been a pleasure working beside each of you and I have the best of hopes for the Union’s future in your hands.