After almost 30 years in the SAU, the RIT Model Railroad Club is faced with destruction. The Center for Campus Life has notified us that we are being forced out of our room, and that we have less than 60 days to dispose of 50% of our club’s materials. The layout we have worked to build will be destroyed. No space or resources will be provided to replace it.

Constructing and operating our layout has been the purpose of our club since it was founded in 1996. Students have gained skills, a community, and the experience of being part of a project that has spanned decades. Through the club they have found jobs, internships, and nonprofit leadership positions throughout the railroad industry. The Model Railroad Club is a highlight of many students’ time at RIT—and, for some, the reason that they chose to attend in the first place.

We are entirely financially independent. Our club receives outstanding support from the community, with over $20,000 in donations over the last 4 years. In addition we fund the club through the operation of our annual Tiger Tracks Train Show. Our show is the second-largest student-run event on campus, with an annual attendance of over 2,000 people. We operate the show to support our layout. Without a layout to fund, the show will end, and an important part of the Rochester community will be lost forever.

Our request to the administration is simple. We have no need of funding, resources, or equipment. We simply request that they allow us to continue to operate in the room we have occupied since 1997. Our club room was secured for a model railroad layout by our founding advisor, Professor James Scudder, who the room was dedicated to in 2007. The school has already removed Professor Scudder’s name from the outside of the room. Now, they will finish removing his legacy from within it.

Please support us in our fight to keep the RIT Model Railroad Club alive, with a layout, and in the space we have occupied for almost three decades. A signature on this petition will show your support for our organization in the fight for our survival.

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Save the RIT Model Railroad Club!