Rules and Administration Committee

The Rules and Administration Committee (RAC) is a standing committee of the Rensselaer Union Student Senate, tasked with managing the Senate’s Union policy affairs and its internal maintenance. The Rules and Admintration Committee was created in 2026, and is unofficially considered the successor of the Policy Subcommittee of the Student Life Committee, led by the Vice Chair of Policy. As of 2026, the Vice Grand Marshal for Internal Affairs (VGMIA) serves ex-officio as RAC’s chair.

Rules and Administration Committee

Standing Committee
Active
Formed	April 14th, 2026
Succeeded	Student Life Committee Policy Subcommittee
Structure
Chair	Griffin Oliver '27
Interest Areas	Union policy affairs, Senate internal reform and maintenance
Interacts with	Executive Board, Judicial Board, Undergraduate Council, Graduate Council

Jurisdiction

RAC's jurisdiction is defined in Article IX, Clause 16 of the Student Senate Bylaws. It includes the following:

1. Oversight over the Union's internal affairs, administration, and policy;
2. Maintaining the Senate's effectiveness, including its continual maintenance projects;
3. Overseeing the Senate's compliance with its Bylaws;
4. Reviewing the language of proposed constitutional amendments;
5. Reviewing Senate-passed policy yearly and making recommendations for changes;
6. Serving as the chief custodian of Senate records; and
7. Investigating compliance with Senate-passed Union policy.

History

Policy Subcommittee

Subcommittee of the Student Life Committee
Defunct
Formed	September 24th, 2024
Disbanded	April 14th, 2026
Structure
Chair	Vice Chair of Policy
Interest Areas	Union policy affairs, Title IX policy, Alcohol and Other Drug policy

The Policy Subcommittee was formed on September 24th, 2024, underneath the 55th Senate’s Student Life Committee. Tim Miles ‘24 ‘25G, at the time serving as Vice Grand Marshal, was appointed the subcommittee’s first Chair. Eventually, the position became erroneously known as Vice-Chair of Policy, and it was re-established under this name for the 56th Senate.

The Policy Subcommittee was originally tasked with investigating various issues of policy advocacy, including Title IX policy and Alcohol and Other Drugs policy. However, throughout its existence, it steadily drifted towards taking a Union-focused role, passing various policy affairs. The Policy Subcommittee, through SLC, discharged XX pieces of legislation during the 55th and 56th Senates. In addition to legislation, it also played a role in affairs with other Union bodies, most notably the 2024 and 2025 conflicts pertaining to the Rensselaer Union Guidelines and Procedures and the controversy over the 2026 Constitutional amendments altering the Greek Senator positions. By the time of the 2026 GM Week elections, the Policy Subcommittee was one of the most prominent bodies within the Senate, and through much of its legislation the Senate was playing a more active legislative role than it had since the 2000s.

As a result of this development, many members of the Senate entering the 57th session felt as if the Senate's policy objectives were not well-served by a subcommittee. Senate Motion 57-02 moved policy affairs from the Student Life Committee to a new committee, named the Rules and Administration Committee (RAC). This motion was better known for the splitting of the position of Vice Grand Marshal. In addition the Union-facing policy objectives of the Policy Subcommittee (purview of Institute-facing policy, such as Title IX policy, was kept under SLC), this new committee also adopted the internal oversight objectives of the defunct Rules and Elections Committee (RNE), the precursor to the Elections Commission. To ensure that the duties of the newly-created office of Vice Grand Marshal for Internal Affairs and the RAC Chair did not conflict, the two positions were merged into one.

Historical Chairs

As the Policy Subcommittee

Vice Chairs of Policy

Senate Session	Vice Chair of Policy	Student Life Committee Chair
55th	Timothy Miles '25 '26G (Chair of the Policy Subcommittee de jure)	Ria Massoni '25 '26G
56th	Griffin Oliver '27	Zach Nobles '27

As the Rules and Administration Committee

Chairs of the Rules of Administration Committee

Senate Session	Rules and Administration Committee Chair	Deputies
57th	Griffin Oliver '27	None