Members of Student Government donned Halloween costumes for their Oct. 31 meeting, where they had a conversation with President Sanders and reviewed PawPrint petitions.
President Sanders
Student Government had the unique opportunity to have a conversation with RIT President Bill Sanders. When asked about plans for campus layout, Sanders said, “When you look at what we have as a resource to work with compared to other schools of our size and sort of our financial makeup, it’s a great campus.” He also expressed a desire to allow students to connect with downtown Rochester.
Facilities, Parking, Transportation, and Sustainability Committee Chair Jameson Baker added that many students feel similarly. He also noted that many students wonder why RIT shuttles cannot have the range of University of Rochester buses. Sanders responded, saying, “I’d love to hear more.”
Housing and Dining Committee Chair Damien Hacke voiced that the visiting chef program is one successful initiative that allows students to feel more connected to the greater Rochester community.
Sanders also spoke of his vision for the College of Liberal Arts’ (COLA) future, saying, “I think we have to do liberal arts in our own way, not just the way liberal arts would be at a traditional school.”
Cross-Registered Senator Savannah Brown brought up concerns with shortages of ASL interpreters. “Sometimes I’ve talked with students who don’t come to RIT because the interpreter shortage is so bad. So, it’s not just for the students themselves, but it’s for the RIT campus as a whole.” To this, Sanders explained that he will need to look into whether the shortage is due to a true shortage of interpreters or financial reasons.
On the topic of club space for the Model Railroad Club and other clubs with designated rooms in the SAU, Sanders simply said, “I brought this to the attention of our vice president for student affairs, and we’ll work.”
Pawprints
A petition to allow RIT Anime Club to stay in their club room and a petition to allow students to use second-hand textbooks have been referred to Student Affairs. A PawPrint advocating for the elimination of artificial intelligence in RIT curricula was charged to the Academics and Co-ops.
Noah Manning of Student Affairs reported that he has been in close contact with the Model Railroad Club to better understand the facts of their situation regarding the club space, and that he is concerned with the lack of communication from some parties that he has reached out to. Manning is also in contact with the Director of Recreation and Wellness Programs, David Stevens, to work on a PawPrint about alleged transphobic incidents with recreation staff. Finally, he noted that David Bagley, Assistant Vice President and Director of Residence Life, has been showing up to committee meetings on the issue of creating spaces for Muslim students to pray, and that “work is happening in dorm spaces.” He also announced that he is working with Andrew Cirillo, Associate Director of Spirituality and Religious Life, to form a focus group on the issue.
Facilities, Parking, Transportation, and Sustainability Committee Chair Jameson Baker reported that he is making progress on a petition to better maintain RIT trails by working with the student who wrote the PawPrint, as well as speaking to Enid Cardinal and Tom Connelly from RIT Sustainability.
The meeting was adjourned at one hour and nine minutes after Student Government voted to close a petition about opening 24/7 study spaces and reviewed an update about a PawPrint in favor of opening classrooms as study areas when not in use.
