RPI looking to in-house shuttles and axe Women’s Leadership Scholarship

In what appears to be an effort from RPI to improve the overall campus environment, Director of Auxiliary, Parking and Transportation Mohamed Ali spoke to the Student Senate. He stated that RPI is developing a long-term strategic parking plan with outside consultants, and that increased permit fees are expected to generate roughly $100,000 more per year. Much like the rollout of the updated shuttle-tracking system, worked on with Web Technologies Group Chairperson Williams Chen ’27, the goal now is to make everyday campus operations more reliable and transparent.

Ali described chronic issues with the RPI’s current contract with Navy Trails, citing a lack of control over scheduling, additional fees for any service changes, and repeated problems with driver reliability. In relation to driver issues, “[he didn’t] want to share here, because it’s embarrassing, but [they] had to let one go recently, and a couple last year.” He noted that the contracted buses also lack wheelchair accessibility and bike racks.

The proposed RPI branded shuttle system would include four smaller 12 to 15 passenger buses, five larger commercial driver’s license-required 24-passenger buses, and a staff of eight full-time and twelve part-time drivers, many of whom could be student workers, with approximately $280,000 set aside for student wages. Ali emphasized the need for robust driver training for safety concerns, and said that they hope to have the new system operating by August 27, pending vehicle delivery timelines of seven to eight months.

On a more bitter note, Academic Affairs Committee Chairperson Griffin Oliver ’27 brought up a new issue regarding the removal of the Women’s Leadership Scholarship, a long-running merit award historically given to incoming women students. The scholarship was first widely awarded to the Class of 2026 and continues through to the Class of 2029. The Bursar’s Office said the issue was outside its jurisdiction, while Financial Aid reiterated that no current awards would change, a response that could only be described as a non-answer.

During Thanksgiving Break, a petition has been circulated within the student body and has garnered 886 signatures as of December 1, more than the required number to elicit an institutional response. It raises an important point about the impact of the removal of this scholarship, affecting the existing “poor gender ratio at RPI.”

According to Oliver, legal staff cited “current Supreme Court precedent” as the reason the RPI could no longer offer a gender-based scholarship. They referenced the 2020 Harvard Students for Fair Admissions v. President decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled race-based admissions unconstitutional. However, Oliver noted that the case did not address gender-based aid, and that there is no existing Supreme Court ruling banning sex-specific scholarships.

The WLS originally appeared to stem from Title IX, which defines and regulates sex-based discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funds. Title IX regulations allow sex-specific scholarships under certain conditions, such as donations earmarked for a specific gender or programs created to remedy historic underrepresentation, such as the Garnet D. Baltimore Endowed Scholarship. The Leadership Scholarship is also earmarked from donations, according to the Financial Aid website. The WLS did not appear on the Financial Aid website, as of November 18, 2025. As of December 1, 2025, their website states, “students who began enrollment in the Fall 2025 semester or earlier and received the Women's Leadership Scholarship will continue to receive this award for the duration of their studies. Although this specific award program will not be offered to new students beginning in Fall 2026, it will not affect the awards of current recipients.”

The Department of Education’s 2021 archived guidance, currently the only federal document explicitly addressing sex-based scholarships, states that such programs can be permissible if structured correctly. Without knowing the scholarship’s original framework, Oliver argued, it is difficult to determine which rules apply.

This Senate meeting took place on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The Senate meets every Tuesday at 6 pm in the Shelnutt Gallery.