If you have any questions email Mira Srinivasa at mas50@rice.edu

Class of 2027! Welcome to Rice, and welcome to the Student Association - we are so happy to have you! Rice’s Student Association is the undergraduate student governing body. Every student on campus is a member of the Student Association, which works to bring the needs and interests of Rice to the campus’s attention through weekly Senate meetings, legislation, and surveys. 

As a new student, you have a unique opportunity to get involved more closely with the Student Association as a New Student Representative, or NSR. The role of the NSRs is to represent their college at the university-wide level in Senate and learn more about how the Student Association works so that they can continue to pursue work in the organization throughout their time at Rice. As one of two NSRs from your college, you will work closely with your college president, senator, and fellow NSR to serve as a liaison between your college’s new students and the Student Association. One way you will do this is by attending weekly Monday Senate meetings, as well as your residential college’s biweekly Cabinet meetings. In addition, you may be selected to serve on a commission such as Wellbeing, Environmental, Diversity & Inclusion, or one of numerous others. Your role in this commission will depend on the tasks delegated to you by the commission head. Furthermore, within this commission (or outside of it if you have a different topic that you are also passionate about!), you will pursue an NSR project, focusing on a specific area of improvement or interest at Rice and working with your committee heads and mentors to learn more about it. Your project is expected to be ongoing throughout the year, but it can belong to a variety of endeavors including research, legislation, and exploration. 

Beyond your individual roles and responsibilities, the NSR program will provide you with many opportunities to get more familiar with the Student Association and Rice. First, you are expected to walk from Senate with your college senator, president, and partner NSR - a wonderful way to discuss everything that happened at the meeting including any conflicts, complicated legislative actions, or the role of the senators and presidents. Many college Student Association teams (which consist of the president, senator, and NSRs) will also have dinners throughout the semester to discuss Student Association events and news more formally. If you are interested in other Student Association positions, such as those on the executive committee, you will also be able to shadow these positions during the school year. Many exec committee members will host office hours weekly, which you are strongly encouraged to attend if you have any questions. Your other primary mentor in the Student Association will be the Director of New Students, who you will meet with every two weeks to discuss your experience as an NSR and in a commission, any issues you may have, how your project is coming along, and advice to navigate the Student Association.

Your role as an NSR also puts you in a unique position to interact with new students from other colleges. Starting with the NSR Retreat and Fall Student Association Leadership Conference on Saturday, September 9 and Saturday, October 14, respectively, where you will spend afternoons getting to know the other members of the Student Association, brainstorming ideas with them, and participating in workshops that will help you maximize your time as an NSR, you will get ample opportunities to interact with members of the Rice community. In addition to these two retreats, you will also get to partake in monthly NSR dinners hosted by the Director of New Students and an NSR Swap the week of November 13, where you will live the life of one of the other NSRs for a week. Some NSRs in the past have taken this swap so far as to do Instagram takeovers! 

Ultimately, the goal of the NSR program is to familiarize new students with how the Student Association works with the hope that they will bring their experience to continue serving in the Student Association in subsequent years. You will also get to dive headfirst into the Rice community by exploring what can be improved and who to connect with to make such improvements possible. We hope to see you in Senate!

Key Dates

Saturday, August 19: NSR Application Released

Monday, August 21: Next Senate, open to all & a great way to learn more!

Wednesday, August 23: Kick-off Town Hall/NSR Info Session

Saturday, August 26: NSR Application Due

Sunday, August 27 - Friday, September 1: NSR Interviews (college-specific)

Tuesday, September 5: NSR Results Released

Saturday, September 9: NSR Retreat

Monday, September 11: First NSR Senate

Saturday, October 14: Fall Student Association Leadership Conference

Monday, November 13 - Friday, November 17: NSR Swap!