Student Government (SG) outlined potential changes to SG bylaws, confirmed RSOs and appointed new cabinet members at its April 17 meeting.
Bylaw Changes
SG’s President, Rafael Gilboa, presented proposed changes to the SG bylaws. Many of the changes aim to clarify the roles and responsibilities of different roles. One of the most notable proposed revisions would remove SG’s control over Greek Leadership Committee (GLC) finances, as GLC is now an official Representative Student Organization (RSO).
NSC Confirmation
SG confirmed third year Psychology students Mallory Pachuilo and Jack Williams as NTID Student Congress (NSC) President and Vice President, respectively.
The two explained their aim to increase attendance at NSC events and inform both RIT and NTID students about what is happening at NSC.
Notably, once Pachuilo and Williams stepped out of the room to allow SG to discuss, NSC’s Election Chairperson revealed that in an NSC “community vote,” 8 voted in favor of Pachuilo and Williams, 12 voted against them and 1 person abstained. While the community vote is only taken to gauge the community’s feelings about a candidate, the “student representative vote” determines the election. In the student representative vote, 3 voted in favor of Pachuilo and Williams, 2 voted against and 1 abstained.
Since Pachuilo and Williams were elected into the President and VP positions at NSC, and they were the only candidates for the roles, SG confirmed them as next year’s NSC President and VP in SG.
ACA Confirmation
SG confirmed fourth year Electrical Engineering student Angelina Myles and fourth year Mechanical Engineering student Andrew Dea as ALANA Collegiate Association (ACA) President and Vice President, respectively.
While Dea was not able to attend the meeting, Myles explained that she intends to “create the foundation to ensure our community doesn’t just grow, but thrive sustainably.”
Director of Finance Appointment
Sebastian Canakis Diaz, a third year Computer Science student, was appointed Director of Finance over Alex Kraljic, a third year Finance major.
“At the end of the day, I want organizations to feel that the process is fair, that decisions are consistent, and that they can trust how resources are being allocated,” said Canakis Diaz.
Director of Marketing Appointment
Miles Wong, a second year Marketing and Management Information Systems double major, was appointed Director of Marketing over second year Photography Advertisement student Jack Mallett. While Mallett focused on social media, Wong focused more on initiatives to encourage students to get involved in SG, such as punch-cards for students who attend events.
Director of Technology Appointment
Patricio Raigosa, a third year Computer Science and Computational Mathematics double major, was appointed as Director of Technology. He mentioned aims to improve the accessibility of the PawPrints website, to which a handful of SG members cheered.
Director of Partnership and Governance
Third year Bioinformatics and Computational Biology student Hassan Bodlah was appointed Director of Partnership and Governance. Some members of SG noted that they were impressed with Bodlah’s work as Muslim Student Association (MSA) president.
PawPrints
A petition titled “Revert the changes to meal plans” was referred to the Housing and Dining committee.
The PawPrints “Install a little train on the red band in the shed” and “Put a toy train going around the ceiling of the SHED” were closed with a response explaining that “Due to several constraints such as funding and logistical challenges, this initiative will no longer be moving forward.”
“Be able to Give Away/Donate Unused Dining Dollars” was closed with a response explaining that “New York State tax laws prohibit Dining Dollars from being transferred, donated, pooled, or redistributed in any form. (….) Any attempt to redistribute Dining Dollars, even voluntarily or for emergency relief, would violate the restrictions placed on tax-advantaged scrip and jeopardize RIT’s compliance with state law.” However, there will be a new “interactive budgeting tool” available for use in Fall 2026.
“Soft Serve Ice Cream” was closed with a response saying that the project is currently not feasible.
Academics and Co-Ops PawPrints
Recently, the Academics and Co-Ops Committee Chair, Katie Beck, brought several PawPrints to the attention of Faculty Senate. Direct responses to these petitions were issued by the Faculty Senate’s Academic Affairs Committee (AAC).
“Make Syllabi Available before enrollment” was closed. Having syllabi available before enrollment is not currently feasible, but the possibility of expanding course descriptions in SIS remains open.
“Notify Faculty of Career Days/Ban Exams during career fair” was closed. Banning exams on career-related days was deemed not feasible.
“Allow second-hand textbooks, prevent antitrust abuse against students” was closed. According to AAC, restricting third-party materials would not make sense.
“2-Week Homework Return Policy” and “Fall Break” were tabled to be discussed during next week’s meeting.
The meeting concluded after about two hours.
