COB Elections

“College of Business (COB) elections will be next week,” said Student Government Vice President Sasha Malinchoc. “There will be tables in the COB in a similar voting fashion to what happened in the SAU during the primary elections. These elections will span four days.” Laptops will be set up for voting for an hour on each of the four days in the COB.

Club Review Board Denies Parkour Club, SG Overrules

The Club Review Board has decided to deny Parkour’s application for club recognition. Parkour is an activity where individuals attempt to overcome obstacles, such as walls or buildings, as quickly as possible. Parkour is said to be in “violation of RIT policies” and “indulging in endangering behavior” where institute liability, including rules and regulations related to RIT facilities, buildings, and students, were in jeopardy. There was a following debate in regard to what specific policies Parkour breaks and if these policies are reputable and what changes could be made to accommodate future clubs like Parkour.

Mike D’Arcangelo, Director of the Center for Campus Life, spoke in regard to this issue, “We have a field of what we call ‘minimum standards of care,’ for instance, athletes playing lacrosse must have a helmet and a chest pad. We’re trying to prevent a serious injury or death. We want to make sustainable decisions about our students… This isn’t just about Parkour, but future groups that come after it. I think it’s important that we talk to [Parkour] now and make sure what they are doing falls within specific safety guidelines.”

Zachery Cohen, President of the Parkour club, stated, “I’ve been trying to work with John Zink [Interim Assistant Vice President for Global Risk Management Services], but we’ve had difficulty staying in touch with him. I also should note that no person has ever died of this. We want to make clear that certain videos which show Parkour as dangerous do not represent Parkour as a whole.”

SG President Ed Wolf stated, “I think if we can’t recognize you as a club, we can still recognize you as an organization which SG can help support. We have to take into consideration that RIT is a private institution, and with that comes a special liability.” It was noted that there is a difference in state and private schools, in terms of clubs or activities that they can allow. “In some cases, when a student sues a private school, the school usually settles whereas in a state school, these cases tend to last longer. Suing the state is very different than suing RIT,” said Rep at Large Matt Danna.

In light of this, Cohen stated, “I feel like we could do a great deal of good in the community…If we could advertise our club, then we could create a better awareness on how to teach and learn Parkour.” SG voted on the issue in favor of Parkour, overruling the Club Review Board, and recognizing the club.