How did I ever end up on the IC?!
I got written in.
Taking a break from the usual banter involving our various accomplishments and goals for the respective week, the Independent Council would like to bring you a series of stories to bring the loyal readers of the independent column a more personal perspective on the organization. The first one goes a little something like this:
Freshman year nobody really told me about the IC, given that our membership is usually 10 people or so. The first time I ever heard of the IC was when I opened up that ballot on the first day of Freshman Elections, 2002. I really liked that mug, the one with the lobster on it from GM Week 2001, and I had to have it. At that point it hit me that it would be interesting to find out if I could get a position on this three-blank ballot section labeled “Independent Council,” so I asked the few people with me at the time to write me in. Some time later and with a grand total of five or so votes, I found myself at the first meeting of the Independent Council, and learned the majority of things that I needed to know at the time, and that was that.
Why am I still here, on the IC, and why am I now the treasurer, of all things?
The IC is a fairly tiny group in comparison to say, the Senate or the E-Board, and I became involved because of the potential that exists for this organization to grow and improve. Our sole purpose is to try to make the lives of independents easier by surveying courses and helping everyone read up on certain electives before creating their schedules, as well as organizing various entertaining events like pool tournaments and representing the viewpoint of independent students in the Student Senate. Since being on the IC doesn’t put a severe drain on the average RPI student’s already scarce time, I believe being a part of it is a great opportunity to improve the lives of pretty much all RPI independents, and most of all an opportunity for members to improve themselves. And while our projects aren’t on a grand scale yet, I believe that the only place we can go from here is onward and upward.
So every Tuesday night at 9 pm, you’ll find me in the Student Government Suite, doing my part in the IC, by offering my time and ideas. I hope to see more and more members join us in time, so together we can get more diverse ideas and get our work done more efficiently than before.
