As the end draws near, I wanted to look back at the activities of Team SG to sum up what has been very hectic (and fun) year. The school year began during the summer, as every member of SG volunteered to serve as Orientation Leaders for the incoming group of freshmen. There were also campus-wide committee meetings (each SG member is required to sit on at least one standing college committee, so the students have more of a voice on campus. Personally, I was part of the Strategic Planning Committee, which worked this year to develop a unified way of allowing faculty, students or staff to submit proposals to the school for new ideas or changes). We worked booths at local festivals, so we could raise the money to help sponsor the inflatable attractions at the Fall Carnival.Several of our members traveled to Michigan on Halloween weekend to attend the NACA convention, where we brought home several awards, beating out some 119 other schools.
At most of the events this year, we have sponsored ‘Letters to the Troops,’ which allows students and faculty to write a note to American service personnel. These notes are sent to a company that distributes them to bases all over the world. Many groups have written back, which we keep in a folder in the SG office if you ever want to read them.
In Feb., SG members attended the 18th Annual Leadership Conference at Main Campus. It is a lot of fun, and I encourage as many as possible to attend next year. That was also the month that your Student Senators went to Columbus (along with delegates from 19 other Ohio Universities) to lobby State Reps for increases in higher education funding. After returning from that trip, I drafted an RWC Student form letter and was able to get 112 of them signed and sent to the Statehouse to represent our school.
We provided free coffee/cocoa at the soup and salad social and did so again for anyone interested at the first of the Monday March Madness events (3M), which was called ‘Come in from the Cold’. Other 3M activities included the UC/RWC Trivia game, which included prizes just for trying a question. We brought those running for main campus Pres. and VP to our branch campus, along with arranging for them to pay for lunch for those that voted. This is the first year that main campus has looked to RWC as an actual part of the whole, and they have never sponsored an event on our school grounds. All of these events do not just happen the day that you see them. They take days, sometimes weeks, of planning. It’s hard work, but it’s also fun and rewarding. I’ve had the opportunity to meet many people through my SG work that I would not have otherwise known.
One of our members served on the committee to find a new Dean, and hosted the Q&A sessions for students with the final five applicants. We worked at the Dean’s Retirement Reception and put on the Student Awards Ceremony.
Recently, SG elections were held at RWC. Unlike other Tribunals, which hold an election at their own meeting to choose their new officers, RW has always made it open to the student body at large. Each student is given the opportunity to vote, and if they choose, to ‘write in’ their choice for any office. You do not need to be a member of SG to run for a position (and a nonmember did take a candidate petition this year, but did not get the signatures necessary to run for the office). Some have criticized that the four individuals on the slate were running unopposed (as has been the case in recent years), but that is due to the level of student apathy on our campus. Few come to our meetings, because few care. I would love to see four people running against each other for President, as at main campus, but the fact that all of the Student Orgs on our campus are run by volunteers does not make it look as attractive as the free tuition and room and board they get at Clifton. We can only be truly effective if others get involved. So, if you wonder what SG is doing for you, or you haven’t seen their presence on campus, show up at a meeting. Bring some new ideas and perspectives to the group, and maybe you’ll learn something as well. Thanks for reading!
Tim Bentley, SG (almost out!) President