The term “student government” is really misleading. It doesn’t govern the students the way “government” does. It’s really more of a student association or student union. Whatever you want to call it, it’s the place where students come together and address the problems facing students, much like a trade guild.

At the turn of the century, as our country was still experiencing the full effects of industrialization, things weren’t as they should have been. Employees were exploited, workplace conditions were horrifically unsafe, and there was really no end in sight. As a result, the workers organized and demanded better treatment. These pesky little organizations were responsible for giving us the 40-hour work week and a litany of other improvements in the way workers in this country are treated. Since then, unions have become the balancing force.

At an appearance during Family Weekend, President Shirley Ann Jackson said we keep the administration on their toes, a compliment that describes our relationship very well. It’s true that we’re here to make sure that students get all that they deserve, but we’re also here to partner—rather than confront—the administration in solving problems. The purpose of student government is to help you make the best of your time here at RPI, and this is the best way to go about doing so. True, we’re facing some tough challenges on this campus with regard to parking, campus safety, TAs, and other issues, but I’m optimistic that by working with the faculty and administrators, we’re going to fix them. Student government fits into this equation as being the place where the 7,000+ students come together and lend a hand in dealing with issues. Of course, like those guilds of old, we can’t just go out there and find problems. You need to tell us. We also don’t get paid, so when we lend an ear, we’re counting on you to lend a hand.

What has student government really done, though?

For starters, I recently wrote about the Community Safety Forum held two weeks ago, which I organized and hosted on behalf of the Student Senate—representative of the entire student body. The idea for this forum stemmed from the concerns expressed by some of you about the recent string of crimes that had occurred around our campus. The issue was thoroughly addressed and we are well on our way to working with Public Safety and the City of Troy to ensure continued safety in our community.

Midterm assessments, the Institute policy which requires your professors to update you on your standing in the class by the middle of the semester, took hundreds of man-hours to implement. While it has worked extremely well in the classes that currently employ it, we still expect you to speak up if a midterm assessment is nonexistent in any of your classes; it is an academic policy created as a result of the dedication of a few students and faculty members. It has made RPI a better place, but it still took a lot of time and a lot of energy. Solving the problems we now face will take nothing less.

To solve the parking problem, we’ve begun by sending people to every parking lot on campus and counting the spaces, then comparing these numbers to the number of permits sold. Of course, that just identifies and quantifies part of the problem. To hammer out and implement solutions, we’re going to need a lot of brains and a lot of sweat.

Addressing the TA problems has been just as time-consuming. We’re in the process of documenting the severity of the problem on this campus while studying the systems used at countless other schools. Every bit helps. Whether you have five hours or ten minutes a week to pitch-in, we welcome your help.

A few weeks ago, I also mentioned each of the committees that collectively comprise the Student Senate but have involvement from non-senators. They have been working on a variety of different initiatives, most, if not all of which resulted from hearing a suggestion or a concern from a fellow student, such as yourself. For instance, many complaints about the RPI wireless Internet signal being patchy in certain areas on campus, residence halls and in the Union have either been fixed or will be fixed. At a Pizza with the President some students were concerned about communication on our campus—this is being addressed with the creation of myRPI.org (more on that in another column) and a new campus newsletter, the Union Pulse.