Voting Seats

The revision of current Staff Council and Academic Senate representatives voting abilities in Student Government meetings was discussed after taking into consideration that SG members have voting seats on both councils. It was argued that, as a result, both governing groups would be better represented in SG and that the decision would be more symbolic — it would not dramatically affect the decisions being made during the meetings.

The debate ended when a move by COLA Senator Alecia Crawford, suggested the any final vote be postponed until the both Academic Senate and Staff Council discuss the issue in their respective meetings to see if they are interested in a voting seat.

The right of Student Service Organizations such as Reporter to hold a voting seat was also discussed. However, SSO representatives were left as non-voting members with a majority against giving them a voting seat.

Gambling Policy

RIT’s gambling policy was also brought up. Gambling-related events such as senior night or Vegas nights may be beneficial as fundraisers considering how successful the President’s Alumni Ball was. The question was raised to receive feedback from SG members on whether to change in the current policy.

RIT’s current policy simply coincides with the general New York State law. It does not outlaw gambling directly, but it does count the promotion of “games of chance,” participation in them, and the possession of gambling devices as illegal.

After discussion among the members, the issue was brought to the attention of Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Dawn Soufleris, who commented that recent statistics show a 10 percent increase in addiction to gambling by young adults 18 to 24 years-old. “For 90 percent of the students, it won’t be a problem,” said Soulfleirs. She then commented that for some students, gambling activities — even fake-money gambling — “may be sending somebody in a direction you don’t want to.”

A “Myth Busters” Campaign

A new campaign is under way and is currently in its planning stages. SG’s “Myth Busters” campaign will consist of gathering, presenting and confirming general myths and rumors that are being spread within the RIT community. One example is the discussion of the RIT academic calendar’s change into a semester system.

The aim of the campaign is to post specific myths and then hold different interactive information sessions where students may be better informed on the issues that directly affect them.

Members brainstormed on the different possible types of “myth busting” sessions and the different methods of informing and promoting that could be utilized. The specifics of all these suggestions have yet to be fully laid out.

The Search for Graduate and Freshman Senators

Two weeks ago, applications for the positions of Graduate and Freshman Senator were reviewed, and the candidates had the chance to present their ideas and goals to Senate. Each candidate had two minutes to speak and answer any questions. Voting took place, and the winners were announced. Christopher Scott was elected as Freshman Senator and Pavan Puttaswamy Geetha was elected as Graduate Senator.