The events of Grand Marshal Week concluded on Saturday with the announcement of the winners of the Grand Marshal and President of the Union elections. Kevin Dai ’14 will be our next GM, while Jonathan Stack ’13 will be the PU. Read more...

My laptop has gotten a lot of wear and tear in the last four years; some pieces are starting to crack off, and it’s not as fast as it used to be. Recently, I’ve noticed my “C” key sticks. I usually need to hit it extra-hard for the letter c to be included in any word. So, in a fit of frustration, I decided to take apart my keyboard and clean out whatever dust was probably causing the problem. Read more...

Last Thursday, April 19, the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center hosted a screening of Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 film Dead Man as part of The Eternal Return series. Dead Man is a re-imagining of classic Hollywood westerns featuring a young Johnny Depp (I couldn’t reconcile him with his more recent roles until his character sprouted facial hair), Iggy Pop, Billy Bob Thornton, and a largely improvised yet excellent soundtrack by Neil Young. Read more...

A set of four doubleheaders laid waiting for the softball team, which took them right in stride by continuing its positive season. First up was Williams College, the doubleheader did not start well as the Engineers were not able to get a result. Read more...

Many RPI students, including the Rensselaer Pride Alliance and the Greek Spectrum, have expressed discontent with the fact that Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia will be an honorand at Commencement 2012. Actions are currently being taken to protest this. Read more...

The end of this semester has been quickly approaching. There are many things to be done to prepare. With my parents in Florida and Texas, going back home is not trivial. I must find a way to get all my belongings to a storage unit, buy airplane tickets—most likely to Florida—and start to study for finals. Oh, and did I mention my summer job? Read more...

Yet another Humble Bundle is out, with more fantastic-looking independent games for a very cheap price. The Humble Botanicula Bundle includes the beautiful adventure game Botanicula, the very entertaining games Machinarium and Samorost 2 from earlier bundles, and—if you pay above the average (currently about 9 dollars)—you get the great new puzzle game Windosill [sic] and the feature-length animated movie Kooky from the award-winning Czech director Jan Sverák. Read more...

On Thursday, April 19, Professor of Chemistry James Ferris received recognition from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for his more than 40 years of research into the origins of life on Earth. Ferris was awarded NASA’s 2012 Astrobiology Certificate of Appreciation for his contributions to the field. Read more...

Hello, RPI. I am writing today as the 147th Grand Marshal. I am excited to start this next term off and am hoping to get started as soon as possible. Read more...

Comedy is a genre that is very tricky to pull off well. The best comedies tend to be those that are smart, yet still utilize crowd-pleasing antics at their core. Generally, I’m not a very big fan of comedy films. This is because I find so few of them to be actually funny, although admittedly I tend to scrutinize them far more than most. However, with last week’s viewing of The Cabin in the Woods alongside this week’s review of 21 Jump Street, I can honestly say these are two comedies I saw back to back that I thoroughly enjoyed. Read more...

Both lacrosse teams were back in action this weekend, with the women’s team sweeping its opposition. With its two wins, the women’s lacrosse team has tied the school record for wins in a season with 13 and still has a game remaining before the league’s post-season tournament. The men’s team, however, fell in a 9-5 decision to St. Lawrence University at the East Campus Stadium, moving it to 9-4 overall on the year. Read more...

Rensselaer is currently in the process of implementing a new travel and expense process for those involved with the Institute and use Rensselaer as a travel manager. The goal is to make the entire process more efficient and provide analytics for the Institute that will allow for proper reimbursements and prevent excessive spending, saving RPI money in the process. Read more...

Hello everyone! My name is Jonathan Stack ’13, and I am the newly elected President of the Union. I would like to first thank everyone who supported me throughout my campaign, and to all of you who went out and voted in the GM Week elections last week. I am deeply honored by the confidence you have shown in me, and I pledge to continue advocating for the student body at large. Now that the elections are over, I am looking to select dedicated students as members of the Rensselaer Union Executive Board for next year. Read more...

As the sun sets over the Appalachians this past summer and the gaff sloop Clearwater cuts cleanly through the Hudson River, the sound of “Which Side Are You On?” travels through the air. Clearwater, described as a classroom, laboratory, and environmental flagship all in one, was launched in 1969 by Pete Seeger with the goal of investigating and conducting research on contamination of the Hudson and preserving the waterway through science education and outreach. Read more...

RPI baseball continued to perform well in the Liberty League after taking three of four games against Union College. However, the week did not start well for the team with a non-league contest against Montclair State University. Read more...

RPI now has signed master agreements in place with Airgas and America To Go certifying these corporations as preferred vendors for all of the Institute’s compressed gas and off-campus catering needs, respectively. These agreements are based on the change in the Institute two years ago to move away from the purchasing card system. Read more...

Occupy has moved on from its “making people aware phase” to embrace systematized planning and action, with legislative consequences. Its second act is not publicity focused, so it is not in the media. Throughout America, hundreds of strategy sessions and conferences are being held to work out a social-action agenda. Delegates are being nominated at these general assemblies to a joint convention in Philadelphia on June 2, akin to the Constitutional Convention. But Occupy is a direct democracy, “civil society” movement, not a middleman-political one, just as the Tea Party was at first. Read more...

Military excellence is something that each and every member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps here at RPI strives for. For those of us who are serving our country, excellence can present itself in many forms. These include various types of physical prowess, drill execution, and military character. Throughout the year, there are many chances for NROTC units and other military academies to prove their excellence in a competitive gathering. This is known as a Military Excellence Competition. The most recent MEC that NROTC unit at RPI has participated in took place at Villanova University, outside of Philadelphia, Pa. The Navy’s finest here at RPI had a strong showing, sending 44 midshipmen and facing off against schools such as Villanova University, Penn State, The Naval Academy, The Merchant Marine Academy, and many others. In the area of physical challenges, the unit fielded multiple teams in crossfit, track relays, swimming, Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs Physical Fitness Test, and Recon challenges. Read more...

You’ve accepted a job ... congratulations! There are many new and exciting changes that are coming your way. Here are a few suggestions from the Center for Career and Personal Development to help in making your first 90 days happy and successful. Good luck! Read more...