Name: Joseph A. Rinaldi
Graduation Year: 2019
Major: BS in Business Administration, with a double concentration in Finance and Accounting, and a minor in Applied Statistics
Hometown: Longmeadow, MA
Bryant Involvement: Student Senate, Ways and Means, Student Services, & Academic Affairs Committees, Student Programming Board, Late Night, Marketing, & Mr. Bryant Committees, Delta Sigma Pi, Mock Trial Team
Favorite Quote: “Greatness isn’t owned, it’s leased, and the rent is due every day.” – J.J. Watt
HC: What are you passionate about?
JR: Student Government
HC: Why?
JR: Without the students, there would be no University. Therefore, we need to be very receptive to our needs. I love helping people, so I want to be a resource for everyone on campus. I want to be the connection between the student body and the resources that the University provides. I also love to get involved. I want to make sure that we have a say in the course that the next four years of our lives take.
HC: Do you plan on attending any more organizations/clubs this or next year?
JR: I really want to explore becoming a resident assistant. Like I said before, I like being a resource for people. I think that RAs are that last line of defense that people can turn to when they have no one else to talk to.
HC: What’s your dream job?
JR: I would like to work on a CFO team for a Global Financial company.
HC: Goals or plans for this year?
JR: I made many promises during my campaign for Student Senate, and I plan to fulfill all of them.
1. First off, when I first came into office, it became clear that there were problems in freshmen bathrooms in resident halls. Those specific issues have already been addressed, and I plan on making facility work order requests more accessible to students in the future.
2. Another issue that appeared on my campaign trail was student representation on The Board of Trustees. Currently, the president of the Student Senate has a role on one the board, and I am attempting to strengthen that role.
3. Another initiative that I am currently pursuing is the issue of smoking at Bryant University. There is a rule in the handbook, Rule-14, that says you cannot smoke within 50 feet away from any university facility. This rule is clearly not enforced, and I believe that students have the right not to smoke. Smokers, right outside of our buildings, are infringing on that right. I have had meetings with DPS and others about an increase in enforcement of this rule. In MA, smoke-free campuses are becoming wide-spread. However, Johnson and Whales University will be the first RI College to go smoke-free on July 1, 2016. I am currently researching the merits of this new policy, and if enforcement on rule-14 fails to solve the problem, I will seek to implement a solution in that direction.
4. Some students at Bryant are awarded merit scholarships as a part of their acceptance package. Unlike some similar schools, Bryant merit scholarships are fixed. I am currently in meetings with some departments exploring the idea of indexing merit-scholarships to tuition. In this system, as tuition rises over your career at Bryant, the merit scholarship will rise with it.
5. Lastly, I am currently working with a group of senators to look at the way senate functions. I believe that our current system could be improved, so Senate is more effective, efficient, and focused. I have had many experiences with different types of committees, seeing how they function, and I have a lot of great ideas for Senate to utilize it’s abilities more practically. Some senators and I are putting together a complete package of Constitutional changes that we believe will not only benefit the Senate but the Bryant community at large.
HC: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
JR: If anyone has any issues, concerns, or ideas that they want Senate to look into, like I said in my campaign, I am just a phone call away.
Phone: 413-887-9459
E-mail: Jrinaldi1@bryant.edu