Hello everyone. I hope you enjoyed your long weekend. As I mentioned in my last column, the Senate went on a retreat to Saratoga last Saturday. The main objectives of the retreat were to plan our goals for the semester and change the way we work. We’ve reinvented the way the Senate operates and we think you will see significant improvements as a result.
First, let’s talk about what went well last semester. We made progress in a number of areas. We systematically visited the fraternities and sororities, each upper and lower class dormitory, and met with athletic teams. We spoke with over 1,500 students to communicate Rensselaer’s initiatives and to understand student concerns. The feedback we received from students had great impact. For example, many student opinions were incorporated in the recommendation to President Jackson to rework the current advising system. Tangible results of that recommendation will be visible soon as we work with the President to implement changes over the coming months.
We created a forum for students to talk with Public Safety and also for Public Safety to advertise safety programs on campus. Students were able to get questions answered regarding the shuttle system and new safety procedures implemented in response to Rensselaer student attacks. The forum was a success and we hope to have a similar program in the future. We’d like to include other topics in the future such as academics and physical facilities.
Continuing from last semester, we are working with Physical Facilities to create a customer service center to enhance the quality of living. We have been targeting the process by which students get maintenance help. For example, if a pipe bursts in your dorm, who would you contact? How long would it take to get fixed and how would you report whether it was fixed adequately? While FIXX and other maintenance programs have resulted in dramatic improvements in service, we are looking to take it a step further.
This semester the Senate is changing the way it operates. Perhaps most importantly we have broken down old hierarchal structures that were hampering progress. We are making better use of people’s time by organizing around projects and eliminating useless meetings. Senate meetings will now be mostly focused on project work rather than long reports that can instead be put online for everyone to see. In effect, we’ve cut out all the fat and are focusing completely on making progress on projects.
The projects that the Senate has chosen to pursue this semester include increasing student attendance at athletic games, informing accused students of their rights, creating a first year student guide, and an online system that allows students to rate classes and professors and discuss different teaching styles. For the Big Red Freak Out, we’re going to work on creating an annual Rensselaer bonfire!
I’m extremely excited as we move forward. I think we have made enormous strides in improving how the Senate works. Contact me if you’d like to get involved in any capacity, e-mail me at gm@rpi.edu. Good night everyone.
