I believe that it is high time for an Executive Board update. Although each week the workings of the board have been covered in detail by the fantastic reporting skills of Virginia Hickox ’12, perhaps it’s time for one from the horse’s mouth. The board and I have been staying quite busy trying to make the Rensselaer Union a better place.
First and foremost, the most exciting news about the E-Board is that this year we have a full board. By the time that you read this article on Wednesday, the E-Board representative from the Class of 2012 should have been approved by the Senate. This is the first time in recent history that there has been a full board of 12. This is a great accomplishment for the board, because not only are there more opinions in the room during meetings, but there is also a broader range of opinions since the graduate student slots are now filled.
In addition to a full board, we have been busy working hard on club business. This year, the board has approved the purpose statements of a variety of new clubs. We have approved programs such as the Game Development Club’s trip to a game conference in Canada, where they will learn new cutting edge information concerning the field and bring back knowledge that will make the games they develop even better. Also, we have approved a reallocation for UPAC Concerts to allows them to bring the band “Boys Like Girls” to the McNeil Room for their fall semester concert. It has been a busy semester so far in terms of club work.
As far as the Union facilities go, the board is also looking into new projects. We have recently purchased an international calling plan that will allow students to call several different overseas countries free of charge, and eventually allow for faxing also. This service should be implemented by the end of the semester. The board is also exploring options for the Games Room, as this is a place with a lot of possibility for the Union. This potential has already started to take form as an Ecologic display, which has been set up by re-using the otherwise useless old bowling lanes.
Lastly, I have divided the board into committees, to allow for the more efficient execution of tasks that do not require the attention of the entire board to complete. The committees are the Budgeting Committee, Constitution Committee, and the Correspondence Committee. The Budgeting Committee will be in charge of revising and updating the Union’s financial policies in preparation for budgeting for the next fiscal year. The Constitution Committee will work with new clubs to help them become a Union-recognized club more quickly. Lastly, the Correspondence Committee will work to promote Union events and increase student awareness of these events. These committees also have positions available on them for non-board members.
If you have any interest in working with the E-Board, any questions, or any suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact me. My email address is pu@rpi.edu.
