Grand marshal addresses short, long-term goals

Hi everyone! With the semester quickly coming to a close, and the weather finally starting to warm up, it’s time to have a productive few weeks and end the year strong! I ran for grand marshal on a platform that stressed a few short-term goals which I fully intend to complete within the last push of the semester. Some of these goals include improving the availability of Senate officer applications, and the implementation of preferred names.

I believe that it is extremely important to establish an equal distribution of opportunities for Student Government positions. In order to create a Student Senate which advocates for all aspects of student life, it is important to have officers and chairs who are involved in a wide variety of activities, both on and off campus.  I have worked toward this goal by ensuring that applications for positions are more readily available and reach a larger demographic of students. With applications being sent to all members of the Union, I believe that we have solicited a larger population of students than we have in past years. I am excited to appoint the 49th Student Senate Cabinet members, and look forward to introducing you to all of them! 

I fully intend to build upon past efforts and collaborate with the Registrar to finalize the implementation of preferred names across campus by the conclusion of the Fall semester. I believe that this project has the potential to positively benefit a large portion of the RPI community, and it is disheartening to see this project stand idle for so long. Last week, I reached out to the Registrar in hopes of furthering the conversation and progressing the project, and I hope to have a meeting setup by the end of this week. 

In addition to these short-term goals, I have also kept long-term goals in mind. My top priority as grand marshal will be advocating for the restoration of our student-run Union, and I plan to do so during every day of my term. This will need to be a unified effort from the grand marshal and the president of the Union, and Justin and I have already come to the conclusion that we see eye to eye on this issue. The benefits of a student-run Union are evident in RPI’s history of well-versed, extremely successful alumni. Having a student-run Union is an experience that I have cherished throughout most of my time here at RPI, and I plan to work relentlessly to ensure that future students will be able to experience this as well. 

The first week or so of serving as grand marshal has been a bit of a whirlwind, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I am, and will always be, honored to serve as your 153rd grand marshal, and to follow in the footsteps of some truly remarkable people. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at gm@rpi.edu!