SG Update 2/14

Policy Reform, Changes and Additions

Jacqueline Jameson, assistant director of Compliance and Ethics in the Finance and Administration department, presented reforms for the C00.0 Compliance Policy and Code of Ethical Conduct. The first change is the name to the Code of Ethical Conduct and Compliance. The improvements made are to realign RIT to similar universities.

According to Jameson, the goals of the changes are to increase transparency and clarity for students. There are clarifications to the expectations of students as well as the institutions that govern.

The policy will have a new look on the website to improve the user experience and the quality of updates to the policy.

The policy gives officers, managers and supervisors a procedure to follow concerning confidentiality. It codifies reporting violations, investigations and retaliation. The policy adds a definition to retaliation and the consequences of doing so. As a part of the policy's goal to be transparent, it discusses the repercussions for violating the code. The policy also adds sex to the list of classifications of prohibited discrimination. The latter was left off in error in the current policy.

The policy aims to recognize that conflicts of interest happen and tries to be transparent in disclosing and managing them.

Election Season

On Feb. 14, 2020, Student Government (SG) President Anika Aftab presented the dates for the upcoming SG election. Due to the Coronavirus, SG rescheduled the election. The following are the accurate dates of the rescheduled election.

• Electronic packets, headshot, bio, platform and media list were due Wednesday, April 1, 2020.
• Campaigning began April 5, 2020.
• Voting was April 14 to 15, 2020. Voting is online; use this link to vote.
• SG announced the winners on April 17, 2020.

For more information, go to this link. If you have any questions about the election, email sgelection@rit.edu.

New Charges

Josephine Bensa, director of Student Relations, presented this week's charges that passed the 200 signature threshold.

The first charge is the Stop Dining Services From Requiring Students To Throw Away Leftover Food charge. This charge asked RIT to find a way to allow leftover food to have a second life as donated food. The charge was given to the Housing and Dining Committee.

The second charge is the Invite Gordon Ramsey To Make A Kitchen Nightmares Ep About Gracie's charge. This satirical charge addresses the perceived low quality of Gracie's that other charges address. Bensa recommended that the charge goes to the Director of Student Relations, herself. The motion was approved.

The third charge is the Prohibit Paid External Required Course Material charge. The charge proposes that professors shouldn't be allowed to have paid external course material that counts for a grade. Bensa recommended giving the charge to the Academics and Co-ops committee. SG approved the motion.

Old Charges

Emmanuel Okafor, committee head of Facilities, Parking, and Transportation Maintenance, presented a response to the Should Stop Washing Away Artistic Expression On Buildings charge. SG had concerns that the response was too concrete and dismissive of the charge. SG voted to table the response until Okafor included the proper rationale behind the original policy and expressed an effort to reconsider the policy since its introduction.

Bryan Gascon, director of Technology Services, presented a response to the It's Been Long Enough, RIT Needs To Add Outdoor Wireless Internet charge. The original charge was to increase the range of RIT's WiFi to outside. The response presented dealt with the efforts of Information & Technology Services (ITS) over the summer. ITS has increased the access to WiFi outdoors on campus at five new locations: Global Village, Gleason Circle Bus Stop, Infinity Quad, the Tiger Statue and U Lot.

The final update is for the Bring Back Tiger Center Enrollment charge. The original charge was in response to not allowing students to sign up for courses through Tiger Center. Gascon added an update to the charge to showcase that ITS is working to resolve the issues.