Destler on the Semester Debacle

Due to rising concern regarding the quarter to semester switch, President William Destler attended Student Government in order to observe and field any questions. When questioned about his take on student concern which can be shown by the rising number of Facebook groups supporting the quarter system, Destler said, “[I am] very concerned with student reactions, and I fully understand the double-sided nature of this issue.” He stressed that extensive measures would be taken to ensure that the transfer process goes as smoothly as possible for all involved parties.

Furthermore, Destler stated that the decision was made based upon what would be best for RIT in the long term and not immediate convenience or a financial conspiracy. Destler affirmed that studies have been done in other schools that have undergone this same quarter-to-semester change — such as Northeastern University — in order to determine the best way to communicate the process to the students, both current and incoming.

Mary Beth Cooper, vice president for Student Affairs, further explained that there is a need to educate people on the process so that become more comfortable with the decision. She stated that although there is a loss involved in change, the pros will outweigh the cons in this situation. In order to guarantee an informed student body and a smooth transition, there will be widespread advertisement for the change as the date draws nearer.

Competitive Sports Clubs

In a presentation given by Kaity Werner, a third year Marketing major and director of Organizational Recognition for SG, and Alvin Roberts, graduate assistant for club sports, the guidelines for competitive sports clubs were outlined. In a joint effort by SG, the Center for Campus Life and the Center for Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation, the guidelines have been drafted to more effectively govern the amount of money spent by sports clubs.

Currently, sports clubs spend more than other clubs, creating an imbalance. Under the new stipulations, there would be a cap at 17 competitive sports clubs, leaving room for growth from the current 15 proposed clubs. Through the Competitive Sports Club model, these clubs would have a pool of funds separate from the other clubs. This concept has proved effective and is based on a model used by Virginia Tech and 15 other schools.

The implementation of this system would call for the formation of a new review board, the Competitive Sports Club Federation, in order to discuss relevant issues such as hazing and budgets. Competitive sports clubs would still be handled separately from varsity sports.

Swipe to Wash

In order to cut down on the amount of resources used by students when washing, a proposal surfaced calling for a card based washing system. Students would be required to swipe in order to wash and dry their clothing. A set number of uses per week would be allocated for student use. The number may change depending on sports activity. Laundry service would still be free.