New Members
Applying to CSH
Incoming Freshman can apply through their RIT Housing Application, when asked about Special Interest Houses. Current students can either visit us on the 3rd floor of Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry Hall, or submit a completed application to our Evaluations Director by emailing the filled out document to evals@csh.rit.edu
Note that RIT Housing caps us at 50 acceptances every summer, so if you weren't accepted at first, feel free to re-apply at any time!
Introductory Process
Once accepted to Computer Science House after the application stage, you are considered an introductory member. This means that you're invited to all our events, involved in our process, and considered to be a member in almost all cases.
However, in order to become a full voting member, you need to complete our 6-week introductory process. The process should take no more than a few hours each week to complete. Our introductory process is defined in our Constitution and outlines completion of a few requirements:
Directorship Meetings
You must attend an average of 1 directorship meeting for each week of the introductory process. This means that you must attend 6 directorship meetings before the end of the 6 week introductory period. There are between 7 and 10 directorship meetings occuring every week, each lasting about half an hour. During one, an Executive Board member conveys to house what they've done in their role recently and what they plan to do in the coming weeks.
Packet
In order to keep CSH a tight-knit community, we want every member to meet and get to know every other member. In order to do this, we give each intro member a Packet — a list of all on-floor members and upperclassmen. Your job as an intro member is to seek out and meet as many of the upperclassmen as you can, and in return, they’ll sign your packet. The packet process takes place during the first two weeks of the semester, after which we’ll count all of the signatures that you’ve collected. If you get a passing percentage of signatures, congratulations! You’ll receive a CSH account and gain access to all of our house computer services. If not, there’s still hope! There is still more time in the intro process for you to continue meeting people, coming to events, and learning at seminars.
House Meetings
There is a house meeting every Sunday at 7:15pm. You are required to attend all of them, as is every active upperclassman. During these, we go over upcoming and recent events, vote to spend money on member projects, and discuss changes to our Constitution.
Technical Seminars
Over the 6 week introductory process, you must attend at least 2 technical seminars. These seminars are hosted on floor and go over a range of topics from Git and Python to more complex concepts like OpenGL or OpenShift.
Social Events
All members are expected to attend some social events. Including camping trips, video game tournaments, movie nights, and much more, just participate in events on floor.
Evaluations
At the 6-week mark, all of the upperclassmen meet and make a decision based on how well you’ve met the intro requirements. Members keep in mind your other responsibilities, such as other club meetings or classes, so don't worry if you're just shy of a requirement. If you’re voted in at this meeting, you become a full member!