SG Update 2/13

During the Student Government (SG) meeting that took place on Feb. 13, resolutions to the autocross ban were discussed, the idea of a campus speaker coming to campus to raise awareness for sexual assault was brought up and a presentation was given by Dr. Kevin McDonald, vice president and associate provost for Diversity and Inclusion.

Peter Ryan Jr., SG Greek senator, opened up the meeting by suggesting that SG should host a speaker to address the growing problem of sexual assault. “This idea actually originated in the Greek community," he said. "… This is a very large issue for the Greek community nationwide, not just RIT, so we want to do our part to address the topic.” 

Ryan also suggested hosting workshops semiannually to bring awareness to the issue.

The next issue was the ban on autocross events hosted by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) being held at RIT. Nick Giordano, director of Student Relations, proposed solutions to bring the events back to RIT; they were cancelled after an RIT student was injured by a wire that had been left behind. Members from the Car Club and F1 racing club came to show support for the movement to bring the events back to RIT. Giordano also expressed the SCCA’s additional support to bring the events back, saying, “SCCA representatives have said they will work with representatives of RIT’s Risk Management, Safety and other departments in order to create an arrangement where they can participate on campus.”

McDonald preceded the adjournment of the meeting with a presentation on the levels of diversity in multiple facets of the RIT community. McDonald brought multiple graphs that displayed graduation rates, population makeup and other factors separated by gender and ethnicity. McDonald referred to the Strategic Plan that is in the beginning phases of implementation, which calls for more diversity among the general population. McDonald expressed enthusiasm for an increase in diversity in future.