At last week’s Student Senate meeting, a petition from the Student Transgender Association RPI and the Rensselaer Pride Alliance was brought to the table by former Academic Affairs Chairperson Griffin Oliver ’27 who raised a motion for Senate’s endorsement. The petition addressed issues surrounding RPI’s process for changing student sex classifications amongst the school’s online systems. Currently, RPI requires proof of a court case to change a student’s sex classification, which takes a significant amount of time and money consequently making it inaccessible for many students. Meanwhile, the state of New York only requires that individuals submit “an affidavit attesting to their gender identity” in order to legally change one’s sex classification. In regards to such, the petition called for a change to RPI’s policies, allowing students to change their sex classification using any legal document as proof. After brief discussion, the motion passed 14-0-1.
Afterwards, the Student Senate moved to focus on appointments. The first two positions addressed were the Vice Grand Marshal of Internal Affairs and the Vice Grand Marshal of ExternalAffairs, two positions established in the meeting prior. Oliver, who initially brought forth the motion to create the two roles the week prior, was appointed to be VGMIA due to his years of experience in working with policies and administration within Senate. Independent Senator Ryan Kilgore ’27 was appointed as VGMEA. Due to his years of experience on the Student Senate, he was also voted into the position with unanimous consent.
As for committee chairperson appointments, former Student Life Committee Chairperson Zach Nobles ’27 ran for the position of Academic Affairs Committee Chairperson. Nobles outlined his goals as chairperson, including honing in on his plan to give students course credit for participation in certain clubs and organizations. Due to his large involvement in the committee prior, Nobles was elected with unanimous consent. Charlie Fowle ’29, a new face on the Student Senate, was appointed to be the Facilities and Services Committee Chairperson. They described their plans to speak with administration and focus on projects regarding accessibility on campus. They were voted in with 14-0-0 approval from the Senate.
This Senate meeting took place on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. The Senate meets every Tuesday at 6 pm in the Shelnutt Gallery.
