The Student Senate, under the leadership of Grand Marshal Mike Borzumate, has selected its main projects for the upcoming year and assigned leaders. The senators chosen to lead the projects have been asked to gather their committees this week and decide on how they feel they can best achieve their goals. Among the tasks being handled by this Senate are the first-year experience for graduate students, homecoming celebrations for the football team, faculty interaction with students, a discount at local businesses for RPI students, and making students aware of events on campus.
The first goal of the project leaders is selecting students to serve on the committees, which they have been doing and will be doing through Friday’s meeting and beyond. “The senators will be looking for people both inside the Senate and out when selecting their committees,” Borzumate said. “We’re very keen to have outside influences.”
Class of 2005 Senator Khaoula Benghanem will be leading the project aimed at creating a discount at businesses in the area for students carrying their ID card. “We’re hoping to get all the popular Troy merchants that students patronize to participate in the program,” Borzumate explained.
Creating a homecoming week for the football team is something that the senate will be working closely with the Alumni Association, athletic department, Class of 2005 Council, and the Interfraternity Council. Project leader Gavin Gyle, senator from the Class of 2005, said that the group will be looking into events such as pep rallies and/or bon fires that will be aimed at introducing the fall sport teams to the school, dances, and a powder-puff game. “Homecoming has been brought to my attention as a major desire here on our campus,” said Gyle, “and with lots of participation and planning, I’m sure we can make it an instant success.”
The first-year experience for graduate students has been an issue of great debate for many years. Each of the individual departments already hold their own orientation for new graduates, and the Institute holds a general program, but many, including students, faculty, and staff, feel that the programs are sorely in need of change. “It’s very rough for them,” said Borzumate. “For many, it’s not only a new school, but a new country, and they’ve got to find an apartment, go to classes, TA classes, and do their research.” This summer, several campus groups worked together to put on a barbecue for graduate students, and by all accounts it was a great success, drawing hundreds. “We need to find out what’s compelling to them, what will make them get out of their labs and meet each other,” Borzumate said. Graduate Senator Jeanine Thompson will be in charge of coordinating a survey to be distributed to all graduate students to determine their needs.
Class of 2006 Senator Cody Powers is in charge of a project to help bring together all the of the information sources available to students in order to effectively inform students of what’s going on at RPI. Borzumate said the impetus of the project was the recent Princeton Review results that put RPI at number one for things to do on campus, and the contrasting and ubiquitous feeling of students that there is nothing to do. “We are going to be looking at a wide variety of medium to do this,” said Powers, “but using the web to bring together some kind of central web portal for information is going to be one of the main focal points of the project.”
Lastly, the Senate has formed a task force under Class of 2006 Senator Mike Goldenberg to investigate how to further the role faculty and staff play in the normal lives of students and build on the success of the “Opening Doors” program sponsored by Residence Life. “Opening Doors was a turning point for us to realize how the students like to see the faculty, staff, and administration involved in their daily lives,” said Borzumate. In the program, over 60 RPI faculty and staff toured the freshmen residence halls on a Tuesday night, meeting students and trying to address their concerns. The program received praise from all sides.
“The goal of this project,” said Class of 2006 Senator Mike Goldenberg, leader of the project, “is to provide more programs and activities which encourage more student and faculty interaction.”
Along with these projects, the senate will also be continuing their push for feedback from students through touring greek houses and the dining and residence halls. The Senate will also be inviting members of the administration and community to address the assembly to make full use of the time previously taken up by committee work.
