The Polytechnic endorses Kate Goldstein ’26, ’27G for President of the Union. Goldstein’s experience serving three years on the Union Executive Board, including her time as Chair of the Special Groups on Club Classifications and as the inaugural Marketing and Strategy Chair make her a compelling candidate for PU. Having worked on various E-Board projects for the Club Operations Committee, Business Operations Committee, and Special Committee on Union Operating Hours, Goldstein clearly demonstrates a thorough understanding of E-Board policies and how the board works.
Goldstein plans to improve policy in areas where she has personally seen inefficiency by enforcing monthly check-ins for committees, as well as easing the training process for both E-Board members and club officers. She is also working to help create a “welcome back” packet that includes all information that club officers may need in regards to E-Board. This idea has been in development for around one-and-a-half years, but she aims to process all required materials over the summer. Additionally, Goldstein wants to highlight the service offered by the Online Shopping Cart at Rensselaer, where officers can set up profiles for their club, facilitating a more efficient system for club resource procurement with quicker approval by their Student Activities Resource Person. By offering this information to club officers in a succinct manner, she hopes to decrease any confusion with club budgeting and their interactions with the E-Board.
Goldstein noted that Rensselaer Union Guidelines and Procedures is a living, breathing document. As such, it needs amendments to better reflect the current policies and procedures that are executed by the board, in the evolving interests of clubs and organizations at RPI. It is in her plan to prioritize these updates. For example, during her time as chair of SGCC, they rewrote and implemented the overdue change that better defined club statuses and the club probationary process. However, she was vague about which specific areas she wants to push for the updates, and offered no concrete plan for when or how she wants to address them.
Miscommunications between the E-Board and clubs, either through their representatives or otherwise, have occasionally contributed to those clubs not properly understanding the budgeting process, and in some cases mishandling money. Goldstein’s plans for a separate financial training, coupled with the “welcome back” packets, brings realistic plans on how to improve relations. Additionally, The Poly believes that her focus on improving the details of E-Board processes would ease the club management process and pave the way for a more efficient E-Board for years to come.
While Goldstein’s commitment to and knowledge of the workings of the student government is crucial to the PU position, The Poly is concerned about Goldstein’s long-term goals, which have not been clearly outlined. With the largest graduating class in RPI history leaving this year, there is uncertainty in the Union’s near four-million-dollar budget. Thus, the leader of the E-Board needs to be prepared to make decisions that have lasting effects past their tenure. Goldstein did not provide concrete plans beyond better financial training, updating the RUGP, and improved communication, nor could she cite any other long-term plans. To her credit, budgeting information can only be procured as enrollment data and subsidy requests come in, so her plan to “play it by ear” provides adaptability to the dynamic tasks E-Board takes on.
The Polytechnic believes that Kate Goldstein is a balanced and diplomatic candidate for the PU role. Her tenure on the E-Board, commitment to bringing clubs new and old up to speed on Union procedures, and levelheaded manner are all valuable assets of a student leader.
