This week’s Senate meeting was shorter than normal as the Senators were scheduled and delighted to participate in the re-dedication of the well-known bronzed tiger statue on RIT’s Quarter Mile. Friday’s meeting, while shortened, was extra special due to the attendance of Student Government (SG) alumni who took time from the President’s Alumni Ball to talk to current student government members.

SG Alumni and a Landmark’s 30th Anniversary

This year marks the 30th year of the tiger statue’s presence at RIT. The statue’s commissioning was a major project spearheaded by the SG of 1989. The project originated out of a want for a common gathering place that students, staff, professors and alumni alike could rally around.

While unique, the RIT campus of the past did not provide any large central gathering site which adorns most university campuses. Students in 1989 realized this issue and petitioned their SG to find a solution. With the cooperation of the administration and overcoming many obstacles, the SG was able to give their constituents the solution they were looking for; a bronze tiger statue on the Quarter Mile.

Some of the alumni SG members that played a major role in the commissioning of the tiger statue spoke to current SG members at Friday’s meeting. The alumni reminded the Senators that SG plays an important role in the day to day operations of RIT. The projects and charges undertaken by SG is imperative to helping the student body express their ideas and thoughts to the university in an organized platform.

Alumni members were thrilled to see that today’s SG is active and involved since there was a concern, when the alumni were students, that SG was just an experiment of RIT that would not last. They noted how relieving it is to see that today’s student body is not only well represented, but also widely diverse and provided with vast opportunities that were not available to RIT students in the past.

Coupled with praise, the alumni also gave some wise advice to the Senators, reminding them to utilize and hone the communications skills that are crucial in being a member of SG. Most importantly, the alumni reiterated that SG is a lasting testament to what a motivated student body can accomplish together.

Back to Business

After the talk with alumni members, the Senators shifted their focus to examining issues concerning PawPrints petitions.

The first piece of business was voting to approve an investigation regarding Tiger Center enrollment. The petition criticized the new SIS platform for removing features that were popular in the previous version of Tiger Center. The Senate approved this and charged the Senate’s tech committee to investigate.

The last issue voted on before the Senate’s adjournment was the closure of a previous charge investigating the possibility of opening “screaming rooms.” These rooms would allow students to let go of stress by having an open space to scream it out. The Senators charged with investigating this possibility found that there is too great of a demand for space relating to education needs. There was also a concern that these rooms would be misappropriated for unrelated and unsanctioned activities. After finding out that there could be no possibility of opening these rooms, the Senate voted in favor of closing the charge and ending their investigation into the matter.

Before ending, the Senate announced that their SG site was updated.