Another political year has passed, and change is on the horizon once again with the closing of the GM Week parade last Friday. As for the Independent Council, new members are standing ready to take their seats, and new officers will be elected within the next week—leaving RPI with nothing less than a group of representatives ready to help the Institute’s community. Already the future is looking bright, and there is still so much more to do.
As the council takes on a new form shaped by its newly elected members, I wish to take this opportunity to thank Jim Elder, vice president of the Independent Council, for everything he has done this year. Jim has been on the Council for two years, which has been as long as I have known him. His dedication and service will not be forgotten and, thanks to him, our surveys found the transportation they needed to reach their destination—the RPI campus. Thank you, Jim.
Looking back on my term of office, I can see many obstacles the Council, as a whole, has cleared—although many more still remain. The IC produced its survey, tabulated the results, and then published them in The Poly for students to benefit from. The campus laundry issue has continually been worked on with fervor and now a light at the end of the tunnel is in sight: Sometime next winter break things will be changing and folks will be able to see the change—not just hear about it. Campus laundry will be different and we will be there to make sure it happens. Most of all, however, I faced the task of protecting the IC from others who believed its destruction would benefit the student government structure. I would hope, with all the accomplishments the IC has achieved this year, I have proved its ever-increasing value to the RPI community.
It is now up to whomever will be the next president to maintain this council and tackle the many issues still at hand: implementing a new, stronger structure of representation, growing the Council to full membership, investigating a proposal to augment campus lighting with more fixtures, etc. The IC Survey still needs to be distributed, collected, and tallied to be ready for the summer edition of The Poly, and survey funding still has to be reclaimed after it was cut by this year’s Executive Board. (The IC has determined that the integration with IDEA surveys, as suggested by the E-Board, is not possible, as comments and other information gathered with the IC Survey will not be available when using the IDEA form, according to Dean of Undergraduate Education Gary Gabriele.)
Remember, your student government can only give you back what you put into it. On the same note, involvement is not costly: IC meetings are only one hour long, once a week, and any independent can join and get a vote after attending three consecutive meetings and being approved by the Council. If that is still too expensive, you still have the option of mailing the Council with your problems or opinions; we always listen.
