Women’s Club Basketball jump starts season

The Executive Board meeting this week was kicked off by Women’s Club Basketball, who plans to make their debut on the court. Represented by captain Ryanne Williams ’24, the club requested $1,983 for new uniforms because they play their first game this month. In response to the request, Club Representative Jake Herman ’23 asked if the requested funds were not already part of the club’s current budget, but Williams responded that the club’s funds did not include the uniforms because of uncertainty from the pandemic in the spring. The motion to approve the funds passed unanimously.

In regards to the upcoming Winter Carnival, Club Operations chairperson Winnie Ouyang ’24 motioned to reallocate a total of $1,800 from their budget to purchase $700 worth of shirts and use the remaining $1,100 to hire performers for the carnival. The motion passed unanimously.

RPI’s Figure Skating Club, represented by Club President Sandra Harper ’23 and Marketing Director Lauren Riviere ’25, presented their budget to the board with plans for their first official season as a club. The team participates in both individual and team events and wants to be able to “compete two times a year and qualify for nationals,” as stated by Harper. In order to start off their season, the club leaders requested $211 be put towards their first official competition at MIT. In the future, they plan to put additional activities into their budget as they move forward with their season. The motion to approve the $211 passed unanimously.

Herman, who also represented the Rensselaer Music Association, presented in front of the Executive Board with a proposal to condense the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, 8th Street Swing Band, Percussion Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Ensemble into one entity as part of the RMA. The Board felt uncertain about the proposal at first because of the large number of groups being joined together. Vice President for Rules and Special Projects Abigail Golden ’24 asked how many groups were under the RMA and how they were being counted. In response, Herman assured the Board by stating that the RMA’s directors organize the 30-35 musical groups in regular meetings. As the Board debated over their decision, Golden argued the RMA needed to report a list of all groups that are considered within their group to the board to know exactly who is included within the association. Without a set list, the combining of so many groups becomes increasingly harder to keep track of. After Board members discussed minutes to clarify the change, the motion to combine all groups as part of the Rensselaer Music Association passed unanimously.

This Executive Board meeting occurred on Thursday, November 11. The next Executive Board meeting will be Thursday, December 1, at 7 pm in the Shelnutt Gallery.