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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e31f6d48-7fff-9b20-5804-9a53066a6a39"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this idea comes a complicated history. Far from an original concept of this cohort, entrepreneurial activity at Union and the greater Schenectady/Albany/Capital Region areas is alive and humming. The problem is Union boasts no organized structure to further student ventures in en<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">trepr</span>eneurship when there is clearly a population who would benefit. As discussed in other content on this page, there used to be an entrepreneurship club named Union College Entrepreneurial Organization. We decided it would be most effective to completely rebrand and (almost) start again from scratch. At the same time that it is important to implement some of what the old club used to provide, this is a time where Union looks to move forward with its new president, new strategic plan and hone in on a refreshed set of values.</span></span>

<span id="docs-internal-guid-e31f6d48-7fff-9b20-5804-9a53066a6a39"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blake Newcomer</span></span>

<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-fc9c937e-7fff-aa5e-8ce8-3f356d7a822c"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Union lauds itself for its diversity in many areas. Across socioeconomic, religious, social, and political divides, Union tries its hardest in order to ensure that as many people as possible can be as comfortable as possible. However, I’ve noticed an alarming lack of representation for other religions besides Christianity with small groups being created for major religions such as Islam and Hinduism with others, such as Buddhism, Sikhism, and so on not having any representation on campus whatsoever. These are all religions with incredibly rich cultures and practices and these religions are not properly represented on campus with the current resources allocated to them. That is why I propose that we convert some of our Idea Labs on Union’s campus into prayer and meditation rooms for people who follow any of these religions! For example, if you follow the Islamic faith and it’s time for midday prayer, one might be hard pressed to find a private and quiet place to pray, especially if they have to travel far from home. That is where the Religious Representation Room (or R Cube) comes into play! Within the room, there will be a plethora of materials for people to read and view such as prayer books of these different religions, how to properly pray according to the customs of each religion, and more. These rooms will be a hub for both enlightenment as well as cultural diversity and enrichment as people from any background are capable of walking into the room and meditating or learning about the religion by actively, and correctly, participating in their religious practices. What my current prototype lacks in artistic creativity, it makes up for it in its efficiency. Many of the materials required to create these rooms are quite cheap and the product of such a small amount of expenditure would greatly outweigh the negatives and could lead to a more connected campus, both interpersonally as well as spiritually. I have rooms for Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, and Judaic prayer with many more on the way depending on the access to rooms!</span></span></span>

<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-fc9c937e-7fff-aa5e-8ce8-3f356d7a822c"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve shown many compatriots my rather lackluster artpiece of the potential layout of the R.R.R and I have been inundated with amazing ideas on how to improve it and on how to push it even further to represent more people. Many people are excited about the concept, even the people whose religion is properly represented by Union. The tests also allowed me to open my mind to the resources already available on Union’s campus and how I can work with those already existing resources to create something better.</span></span></span>

<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-532a5571-7fff-1e9a-3c96-6f77f40e5707"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not many women in computer science is a phenomenon that I noticed at Union. My aim is to encourage more women to get involved. Knowing how to code is an essential skill and innovation is interconnected with coding. Creative ideas can grow and be developed through computer science. But yet not many women are pursuing a computer science or computer engineering major. That might occur because of stereotypes making women unwelcomed, lack of technological education and even because people think that tech careers are antisocial, or computer science is hard or the work environment is hostile to women. We do not highlight enough role models of women in computer science.</span></span></span>

[[Category:Student Priorities|u]]