RPI Math Club gets affiliated, budgetary motions passed

RPI Math Club approached the Executive Board for Union affiliation. The club, like many others now coming to the E-Board for affiliation, fizzled out over Covid-19. As of now, they have a multitude of students in different grade levels interested in participating. The request was quickly approved 13-0-1.

Union Show Techs, which provides the RPI community with sound and lighting reinforcement while helping their members gain technical skills, approached the E-Board with a request for additional subsidy. An additional $2,135.65 would help UST replace old lighting equipment and purchase a new digital lighting console. The club emphasized that the disrepair of their current setup was proving to be of increasing safety concern to both their members and the performers who depend on them for sound and lighting. A large contribution from the E-Board, in addition to $2,500 of their own funds, would allow for repairs to resolve this danger, reduce maintenance costs over time, and simplify training new members. UST also managed to get a heavily discounted quote on the necessary purchases from their vendors, further reducing the cost of replacing that much equipment at once. Following their presentation, the UST were dismissed from the room, and the E-Board entered into a lengthy discussion on the feasibility of this request. There was some concern over the amount of money requested, but members who had some experience with the UST provided the necessary context. It would cost far more to delay any allocation of funds given that the equipment would need to be replaced eventually and discounted in bulk. Additionally, it was noted that many clubs depend on the UST. After this context was provided, the motion to provide the UST with the full additional subsidy of $2,135.65 was approved unanimously.

RPI Quadball came before the E-Board to request an additional subsidy of either $2,000 or $4,000 to cover travel expenses to attend nationals in Texas. Without a subsidy, players would cover $341 per person and, depending on the amount of subsidy approved by the E-Board, this contribution would be reduced. Following the dismissal of the club from the room, the E-Board entered into a lengthy debate due to some pre-existing budget discrepancies and worries over where the requested funds would be pulled from. After much discussion, a motion was made to modify the motion from a request for additional subsidy to a request for a travel subsidy. This modification was approved by the E-Board unanimously, as was the motion to give RPI Quadball $2,000 in additional funding.

RPI Code Red, a competitive, engineering-focused Nerf club on campus, petitioned for a starter budget of $246 in anticipation of their upcoming nationals. According to Club Operations, there had been some issues with approving further necessary travel subsidies, which can only be provided after the entirety of a club’s starter budget is depleted. After dismissing the present RPI Code Red members, the E-Board entered a discussion on what they would do going forward to ensure the club can attend any nationals they may qualify for, the hope being that a future stopgap or travel subsidy may be applicable. The motion to approve RPI Code Red’s starter budget was passed unanimously.

The Executive Board meeting was held on February 29. The next E-Board meeting is Thursday, March 14 at 7 pm in the Shelnutt Gallery.