Independent Council

Independent Council

Defunct
History
Established	1962
Disbanded	2014
Structure
Presiding Officer	President of the Independent Council
Voting Membership	3 representatives per class, up to 15 members-at-large
Officers	President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Senators, RNE Representative

The Independent Council (IC) was a branch of the Rensselaer Union dedicated to promoting the interests of independent (non-Greek-affiliated) students. It was once an independent body, but was integrated into the Union's governance structure with the 1970 Constitution. For most of its existence, it was a subsidiary body of the Student Senate, maintaining its own constitution approved by the Senate. The IC performed both advocacy and social event planning.

The 1990s onward saw substantial growth in the independent population, making the IC redundant as many of its social and advocacy functions began to be performed by the Senate, Undergraduate Council, and Graduate Council. In 2014, faced with declining participation rates and an increasingly sidelined role, it chose to dissolve itself.

Structure and Operations

The Independent Council's structure changed over time. The 2004 Constitution of the Independent Council defined its membership as between fifteen and 30 members. Three representatives each were to be elected from the graduate, senior, junior, sophomore, and freshman classes (the former four positions during GM Week, the latter during yearly freshman elections). In addition, up to 15 members-at-large could be appointed by the Council.

Among its own membership, the Council selected officers; a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Senator (later two Senators), and a Rules and Elections Committee Representative.

As an advocacy body, the Independent Council dealt with issues affecting independent students, especially relating to non-Greek residential life and services. This included advocacy for the introduction of laundry facilities in the Union, cost analysis for on- and off-campus living, and advocacy for the Folsom Library to include copies of class textbooks. It also planned social events.

Pre-Union History

The Independent Council was established in 1962 and would exist for 8 years as a fully independent body. At the time in which it was established, the Institute was overwhelmingly made up of Greek-affiliated students. Independent students, who, among other differences to, lived in dormitories rather than in fraternity houses, felt marginalized by the student governance structures of the time, and it was this hole that IC intended to fill. According to Cait Bennett in Roots of Rensselaer, during this period, the Independent Council had 7 committees:

• The Off-Campus Housing Committee, responsible for compiling information on off-campus housing and landlords;
• The Housing Committee, responsible for advocating for higher-quality dormitories;
• The Library Committee advocated for longer library hours;
• The Committee on Frosh Camp, responsible for growing independent representation at freshman orientation known as "Frosh Camp", at that time dominated by fraternities;
• The Publicity Committee, responsible for the IC's public relations;
• The Ways and Means Committee, responsible for the IC's finances; and,
• The Political Committee, responsible for working with other campus organizations.

History in the Union

The original 1970 Union Constitution defined the Independent Council as a branch of the Union's student government subsidiary to the Undergraduate Council (UC). It was responsible for defining its own constitution, although this constitution needed to be approved by the UC, which could review any action taken by it. It shared this subordinate status with the Interfraternity Council and the four undergraduate Class Councils. Some opposed the 1970 Constitution on the grounds that the IC's autonomy was being removed by its folding underneath UC.

Under the 1987 Union Constitution, the Independent Council retained its subordinate status although it was shifted to now be under the Student Senate; the IFC and the newly-formed Panhellenic Council were also placed under the Senate during this time. (check to see if shift happened in 1987 or 1974)

In 2013, an additional Independent Council Senator was added, to correspond to addition of a Senator from the Panhellenic Council (in the original 1970 Constitution, only the IFC Senator existed). Records indicate that the RPC Senator position was present in the 1987 Constitution, and it is not clear why the additional Independent Council Senator was added in 2013 in particular.

Dissolution and Legacy

In the 21st century, the proportion of students involved in Greek Life plummeted, and as a result the interests of independent students began to be advocated for more directly by the Student Senate. By the mid-2000s, its operations appear to have largely become focused on event-planning rather than direct advocacy.

By the 2010s, the Independent Council began to suffer from dimished engagement, and in 2014 it opted to dissolve itself.

In the present, the Independent Council's main legacy is through its Senator positions on the Student Senate, renamed after its dissolution to simply Independent Senator. In 2023, the number of Independent Senators was raised to 3. The position of IC representative on the Rules and Elections Committee is today the Independent representative on the Elections Commission.