I was recently asked why I didn’t do a Top Hat last week. I found that the question itself is much more important than my answer. It was essentially asked with the belief that the connection between student government and the student body ceases to exist unless the Grand Marshal files a 300- to 400-word article in The Poly. This could not be further from the truth.
Allow me to forgo the 7-11 analogy and assure you that at literally any time of day, there are people working on the many problems that we face as RPI students, as well as investigating ideas that will improve the quality of our experience here. We have teams of students investigating the overselling of RPI parking permits, the causes behind the tuition hike, the TA problem, the improvement of the housing lottery system, and the need for a comprehensive Student Bill of Rights, just to name a few. These problems don’t solve themselves, and it takes countless hours of work behind-the-scenes hammering out solutions before any end is in sight. The goal of the people doing this work is, without exception, to make RPI a better place, something which they are extremely dedicated to, regardless of whether you’re reading about it in the paper.
In addition to these long-term goals, your student government handles numerous concerns on a case-by-case basis. For example, when the makers of the Internet video End of the ‘Tute found their right to free speech in jeopardy, the Student Senate immediately stepped up to the plate to defend it. The next time you see a Poly without a Top Hat, don’t ask yourself why the Grand Marshal didn’t write one. Ask yourself why you didn’t give the Grand Marshal something to write about.
