I hope everyone had a great first week of classes. The hardest part about this week was most likely not class-related, but figuring out how to get to all of the events going on such as the Union Activities Fair, Off Campus Student Fair, greek events, welcome back events etc. The turnout for everything that went on looked great.
The Hockey Line, a Rensselaer tradition is on September 11. For those that don’t know what this is, it will be a parade similar to last year that culminates at the Houston Field House where students are lined up to pick out seats for the games. The red clock at the Rensselaer Union counts down until the event. People have already started camping out in the line to start purchasing tickets to get their seats. In other sports news, the football opening game is this Saturday, September 8 at 12:30 pm at East Campus Athletic Village! Be sure to stop by and cheer on the Engineers as they play against Alfred University.
Sorority and fraternity recruitment is currently going on—events ranging from car bashes, golf carting, “exotic meats,” and clam bakes are all great ways to have fun and eat some food. Whether you are actively trying to rush a fraternity or inadvertently meet like-minded people that you would like to get to know better, fraternity rush events are a win-win. I am no expert on sorority recruitment, as it is restricted to women.
This past week, President Shirley Ann Jackson has also mentioned the renewal of The Rensselaer Plan. Now that the original ten-year plan is coming to an end, a ‘refresher’ is being put together. The original plan has been extremely successful when looking back on what the school has done in the last ten years. The new Rensselaer Plan will no doubt require student voices to be heard. ECAV is a very good example of something that the student body’s ideas had a hand in.
Freshman elections are also now starting—student government is a great way to get involved on campus and to start building new friendships. Stop by the Student Government Suite to pick up some information forms to fill out, and start getting your nominations and your posters out there! If you would like any advice, feel free to ask me by e-mailing me at gm@rpi.edu with any questions that you may have.
Recently the Student Senate has finished appointing all committee chairs. Kyle Keraga ’15 was appointed to chair the Student Life Committee, and Christine Schoenen ’13 is now the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee. As we transition into the new year, we are starting to think of new projects and things we can do to help improve quality of life here at Rensselaer to make it the best it can be. If you are interested in getting involved in the Student Senate Committees or have any ideas or concerns that we could look into, feel free to e-mail me as well.
Enjoy the weather while it’s nice!