Over 500 students attended the “Uprise at Five” student rally this past Thursday in the CII Plaza to show their concern for the lack of transparency and communication demonstrated time and time again by the administration. I am thankful for the help and support we received from students—your civil and impressive involvement throughout the process does not cease to amaze me. Thank you to the faculty and staff for your additional support. As we move forward, I am excited to have so many people engaged and participating in this process. I am confident that we can create change by presenting our case as a united community. We have reached our breaking point, and we are tired of not being heard.
At the event, we passed out a document titled “Revisiting the Requisites,” detailing the basics of our impasse. You can find a full copy of the document and other information at http://documents.studentsenate.rpi.edu/ some of the basic ideas were pulled from the “Requisites for a Technological Institute” presented to the administration 39 years ago. One of the document’s strongest statements—a message that still rings true today—reads, “Certain definite action is necessary and logical for the future of RPI and its students. It is our opinion that what are commonly known as ‘the channels’ serve only to thwart communication and progress. We
no longer wait while our educations, our very lives are being arbitrarily controlled by an unresponsive, unsympathetic administration.”
Not only do we need to speak out about the similar injustices still running rampant today, but also request for the process itself to be changed at its core. We cannot allow the administration to continue permitting the top-level managers and vice presidents to dictate how policy will be created without proper benchmarking and discussion from affected constituencies.
While a few select administrators have allowed student input at some capacity, it never seems to go beyond a brief forum for our points and then a declaration of the meeting’s close. An open channel for communication requires more than brief glimpses through tinted windows—it requires a two-way transfer of information with the purpose of lending thorough consideration to points made by both sides. It is to this end that we, the student body, are left with no choice but to demand a reform in the decision making processes that govern our lives and futures. I am simply tired of being sent on wild goose chases to find information about decisions that have already been made.
We need to change the way the game is played, or—as it has been for decades—that game will continue to play us. And make no mistake: we students are not bitter about our lives at the Institute. Our love for our alma mater has not decreased due to the lack of respect we have been shown by the Rensselaer administration. Last Thursday proved that our cause is fueled by an unwavering dedication to RPI. Our demands for increased transparency and more involvement in the decision process will make our Institute a better place for everyone. That promise of a brighter future—one in which all voices are considered—is the reason we must continue to speak out against the injustices we still face today. We now call on the administration to listen to us, speak with us, and work with us to realize this vision.
