Ravi writes in
Welcome to the 2014-15 school year! I would like to share with you why I joined the Student Association (SA), and what we are working towards – with your help – this year.
After the controversy of last year’s general election, I ran as a write-in candidate in the rerun elections to truly leverage the unique voice students have in the governance of this university. During those few weeks, the buzz across campus was palpable, and reflecting upon the last semester, I have realized the potential we have, as a student body, to come together as a community.
I think that we are faced with two major issues as a campus – the encroachment of the culture of “busyness” – and as we all overcommit our schedules, the loss of the quirky and weird culture and interactions that truly define the Rice experience.
My first two years here at Rice, I was addicted to “busyness.” I was convinced that doing more would get me further. In a world that moves at an ever-quickening pace, where success is intertwined with happiness, finding what I wanted to do, finding purpose, was impossible; and as my classmates did around me, I just did more.
Looking back upon those two years, the reality seems exceedingly clear to me. There is a voraciously growing mountain of opportunities, requirements and courses at Rice, and in our craze to add more, to compete with our “peer institutions,” we have colluded to create a culture where being involved in a perfect storm of majors, extracurricular activities and internships is the norm. What we are starting to lose are the small things – the interactions with like-minded classmates across campus, the time to slow down and explore.
As your SA President, I want to use this opportunity to truly bring our undergraduate community together and forge a better culture and environment that reflects the unconventional nature of the students that make up Rice. I am not claiming I know the answers or solutions to all of these problems, but what I am claiming is that I am ready and willing to ask difficult questions – and listen to your answers.
Over the coming semester, I will use this column to ask these questions and share specific initiatives that our team is working towards, starting with strengthening our campus-wide culture. I hope that this can spark healthy discussion and conversation across campus, and we encourage you to come to our weekly meetings (Wednesdays 8 - 9 p.m. in Farnsworth Pavilion) or talk with your elected representatives (College Senators and Presidents).
Strengthening Rice’s campus-wide culture
The residential colleges are the defining aspect of the Rice experience and what it means to be an undergraduate here. However, beyond the colleges, we have an immense opportunity for students to interact with and meet individuals across Rice, forging life-long bonds and friendships. How can we facilitate and strengthen campus-wide forums and programming?
Already, we have put in place a new structure for a campus-wide Future Alumni Committee, bringing together existing alumni-related groups from the colleges and across campus and centralizing planning for events ranging from Homecoming to 1:1 sessions between students and alumni – which will connect students, over their four years here, and forge bonds across campus. We have created a sustainable structure for a new Senior Committee, bringing together the Class of 2015 through events and activities at Rice and across Houston.
Looking forward to the fall semester, we are working to bring back the Rice Rally Club and support our fellow student-athletes. Working closely with the athletics department and college leadership, we will put on exciting and engaging programming and foster a new level of Rice pride.
As we move forward into the school year, we are looking for ways that we can support and fund these, and other, campus-wide initiatives over the coming years, and truly enhance and strengthen what it means to be a Rice student – unconventional and weird.
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