SG Update 4/27

Overview

At the April 27, 2018 Student Government (SG) senate meeting, reports were given on the Board of Trustees meeting, bylaws were voted on and new committee chairs were approved by the senate. Also, previous charges were consolidated, updates were given, a petition response was approved and announcements were made.

Senate Reports

SG President Farid Barquet, a fourth year Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience and Biomedical Sciences double major, reported on a meeting he had earlier in the week with the Board of Trustees. He reported that two initiatives were passed by the Student Life Committee subsection. The first initiative was to create and implement a formal procedure by which all student employees would be able to receive feedback from their supervisors. The second initiative was to create a new YearOne program that will be named “RIT 365.” The revised program will aim to teach incoming students critical thinking, problem-solving skills, career skills and resume and portfolio building. It was created after using two years of feedback from peer mentors, second year students and third year students.

Barquet also reported on the top three priorities discussed at the Board of Trustees meeting. Firstly, President Munson proposed a renaming of several of RIT’s colleges to reduce confusion. Additionally, plans are being made for the expansion of GCCIS using part of Austin McChord’s $50 million donation. Finally, within the next coming years, the board is looking to convert some classrooms into research spaces for students.

Voting on Bylaws

Bylaw revisions presented at last week’s senate meeting were voted on. Revisions made to Appendices A, B, D, E, F and H were approved. Changes made to ALANA Collegiate Association (ACA), Global Union, OUTspoken and NTID Student Congress bylaws were all approved as well.

Committee Chair Approvals

New committee chairs were introduced to the senate for approval. All were approved.

Assuming the role of Academics & Co-ops Committee Chair will be Jacob Ellis, a first year International Business major.

The role of Facilities, Parking and Transportation (FPAT) Committee Chair will be filled by Frankie Albin, a third year Web and Geographic Information Systems major and current SOIS senator.

Returning to the role of Student Affairs Committee Chair will be Ian Stroszeck, a first year Computing Security major and current Student Affairs Committee Chair.

Filling the role of Sustainability Committee Chair will be Liam Megraw, a second year Environmental Science major.

Finally, assuming the position of Housing and Dining Committee Chair will be Kansas Cushing, a first year Computer Engineering Technology major and current First Year senator.

Consolidation

A few charges from the FPAT Committee were combined into one charge for ease of focus. One consolidation proposed was the combination of 24-hour lab access with 24-hour building access. This charge is awaiting approval from deans and will need collaboration with Public Safety to become reality. The second proposed consolidation called for the revamping of the shuttle system in tandem with the bus system review. This combined charge aims to improve bus transportation both on and off campus. Both consolidations were passed.

Updates

Two updates were announced. Plans are being made with Environmental Health and Safety to place blind spot mirrors in the residence hall tunnels over summer. Discussion is still going on about improving parking on campus. Current ideas include shifting a portion of reserved parking spaces to general parking as well as introducing short-term metered parking at the front of lots for those only parking for a couple hours.

Petition Response

A response was given to a PawPrints petition that asked for Eid to be made into an official RIT holiday. The general response from the Senate and Provost Jeremy Haefner was that RIT recognizes its diverse student body but does not recognize any specific religious holiday as an RIT holiday. Rather, if a student is celebrating a religious holiday, they should notify the professor beforehand and the professor will be strongly encouraged to pardon such anabsence. The response to the petition was approved.

Closing

Given that this was the final SG senate meeting, Barquet expressed his gratitude to everyone present for their hard work, dedication and accomplishments over the year. Corinne Mendieta, a fourth year Mechanical Engineering Technology major and the incoming vice president for next year, closed the meeting.