Hello everyone, I hope everything is going well. I imagine you have been noticing the campaign signs and banners hanging around campus, which means two things: GM Week is coming quickly and my term as your President of the Union is almost done.
With GM Week comes campaigning, debates, elections, and plenty of fun events to take part in. The week commences this Friday with fireworks and concludes a week from then with the final election results and a battle of the bands competition. For the complete week-long schedule and all the details for the events in between check out the GM Week Committee webpage at http://gmweek.union.rpi.edu. This is a week to celebrate and have a good time, so come out and take part in these great events.
At the Executive Board meeting this past week, a variety of business items were addressed. The Sodexho director of food service of the Union, Rob McIntosh, gave a presentation on the proposed food price increases. Sodexho determines their expense increase by using a formula based off of the consumer price index for food and beverages. As the CPI increases yearly, it affects the cost associated with the operations and the price the consumer pays. Based on the contract the Union holds with Sodexho, the E-Board must approve the proposed price changes on a yearly basis.
The second item on this past week’s agenda was a reallocation proposal from the Rensselaer Aeronautical Federation. The proposal requested the reallocation of funds that had not been used on flying trips because they were canceled due to inclement weather. These funds would be used to assist in funding the travel and competition costs associated with the National N.I.F.A. Competition that they qualified for at the regional competition. The E-Board approved the proposal under the condition that a cost breakdown be submitted within the next week for review.
The last proposal of the night came from the Philippine American League club. The PAL proposal requested permission to host the national F.I.N.D. conference at Rensselaer this fall. After lengthy discussion the proposal was approved with the condition that a legal document or contract would be drafted by the national organization stating the financial responsibility associated with hosting the conference.
This Thursday will be the last Executive Board meeting before the newly elected President of the Union takes office. As always our meetings are 7:30 pm in the Patroon Room of the Union. Please feel free to send me any questions or comments at pu@rpi.edu and 276-8598 or stop by the office in the Union Room 3136.
