Policy:Styling

Naming Union Bodies

THIS POLICY IS A DRAFT

A "Union Body" is defined as a body within the Rensselaer Union's student government, either an organization defined directly in the Union Constitution or created by one of them. It does not include organizations under the Union umbrella, such as clubs.

Refer to the various organizations of the Union collectively as "bodies", not "boards", "councils", or "legislatures".
- Example: "Although the Senate and EBoard often collaborate, historically the two boards have occasionally come into conflict" is not acceptable, but "...the two bodies have occasionally come into conflict" is.
- An exception is if all bodies being referred to use the word in question, such as the Graduate Council and Undergraduate Council or the Executive Board and Judicial Board.
Use the name given to the body in the Union Constitution, regardless of what their bylaws say. For example, do not refer to the Graduate Council as the Graduate Student Council (the name used in the GC bylaws).
Never, ever refer to a Union body as the "RPI X" (or just Rensselaer, or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). Instead, call it the "Rensselaer Union X".
If a logo exists of a Union body that uses "RPI" without reference to the Union, look for an alternative and avoid using it unless there is no other option.
- Never use a logo that is simply a variant of the Institute logo at the time, unless affiliation with the Union is clearly indicated.
Exceptions to the above policy exist:
- For bodies created prior to the modern Union;
- For subsidiary bodies such as committees, so long as they were established and known;
- For class logos, so long as associated captions clearly indicate they are just the logo of the class year itself

Names & People

THIS POLICY IS A DRAFT

The operating policy of the RPI Wiki is that by joining RPI's student government in a formal capacity, you are consenting to your service being a matter of public record. If you do not want your name to be displayed publicly on the Wiki, please contact EMAILHERE so it may be removed. The following are the policies for the usage of people's names on the RPI Wiki.

In general, only use names in a way that is strictly neutral and directly in reference to the position they hold. This includes tabulating who currently holds/has held a position, who first held it, who last held it, and similar cases. It is acceptable to mention an action, position, or quotation from someone, so long as it is attributed to their position only.
- Example: instead of saying "John Doe, Head Cheerleader, spoke against the motion", say, "The Head Cheerleader spoke against the motion".
- Exceptions include pictures where someone is shown, or their captions, so long as those pictures are found in the public record (such as in a Polytechnic article) and quotes that directly mention them so long as the usage of that quote is important to the overall article and could not be replicated by a "anonymized" paraphrasing.
Use the most recent preferred name of the person in question in all cases, regardless of whether or not they used that name during their time in student government, or if they spent part of it using a different name.
- Sometimes people will use a name at RPI or in student government that they are not using full-time. Use your best judgement to avoid outing someone.
- In the case of nicknames, use your best judgement. Consider, among other factors, whether their nickname was used as their preferred name in RPI's systems and whether it is used in student government records (agendas, minutes, placards, etc.).
Do not place class year after names. Although their usage is both ideal and common in recent records, mention of class year is less common in older records and so would be inconsistent if used.
Do not create pages for members of student government. Creating pages for prominent administrators, such as Institute Presidents, is acceptable.
- If you would like to record your positions and accomplishments for posterity, do so on your User page.