At its weekly body general meeting on Monday, October 29, the Student Senate, as always, had a laundry list of items to discuss and debate. However, this time, it welcomed Lester Gerhardt, Vice President of the Faculty Senate to speak. Gerhardt is an active member of the Faculty Senate and professor of the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering. Read more...

Despite its recent technical difficulties, Blackboard LMS is still the go-to system for professors trying to get their course content online. It offers convenient ways to access course resources such as the course syllabus, lecture notes, and lab materials, and it provides easy access to grades so students can monitor their progress through the course. The Poly recommends that professors use LMS to distribute their course materials and grades so that students can reliably check the site for anything related to the courses they take. For professors who choose not to use LMS as a distribution point but instead use their personal web space or another online portal, LMS is a way to distribute grades and track course progress for students. Read more...

Sigma Delta held their 6th annual Nuestra Belleza this past Saturday. The event, a multicultural pageant, was held in the McNeil Room in the Union, and lasted from 6–8 pm. The sisters raised over $800 for the Invisible Girl Project, an organization working to end gendercide in India. Read more...

The Engineers moved to No. 10 in the United States Collegiate Hockey Online rankings with their win over previously No. 13 University of New Hampshire in front of the 3346 fans in attendance Saturday night. RPI’s success once again came as a result of a high-powered offense. Senior Johnny Rogic wasted no time in burying a shot from the slot only 38 seconds into the game. Seniors Matt Tinordi and Guy Leboeuf did the dirty work to get Rogic the puck, setting the tempo of the first period. The Engineers spent a lot of time in the Wildcats’ zone and not much time in their own as the RPI defense played well in the first. An odd-man rush was denied by a great shot block early in the period. Shortly after, tight defensive play in front of junior Zack Diebold led to a quick counter attack for the Engineers. Junior Luke Curadi moved the puck out of the zone where junior Zach Schroeder took over. Schroeder saw freshman Jake Wood flying up the left wing and hit him with a beautiful pass as he entered the zone. Wood capitalized and scored the Engineers’ second goal of the night and the first of his career by beating UNH goaltender Jeff Wyer over his left shoulder from the hashmark. RPI outshot the Wildcats 14-3 in the first. Read more...

Scattered throughout the RPI campus are many places students can congregate to hold meetings, study, socialize, and kill time before their next class. Something some students might not know, however, is that there is a place you can do all of that and consume alcohol, legally. Located in the third floor of the Rensselaer Union, the Clubhouse Pub is a Union-run organization that caters to the student population. Back in the 1980s, students petitioned the Union for a place on campus that would allow of-age students to drink in a safe, conveniently-located environment. After it was approved, the Class of 1990 made it possible by making the Pub their class gift to the student body. Read more...

William Basinski, famed audio tape executioner and undertaker, rolled into Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center last Saturday night. Known primarily for The Disintegration Loops (2002–2003), a series of albums laboriously chronicling small ancient loops of tape being played to destruction, he looked as the tapes themselves: a relic, a blonde shoulder-length god-of-rock haircut cast off his forehead in a bouffant, the dust on his unzipped leather jacket similar to the dust on the tape we would soon hear, the lack of undershirt and dangling cross from neck to navel indicating that he could have just auditioned for a glam rock band. As the story goes, Basinski’s current works are sourced from his forgotten analog tape recordings made in the 70’s and 80’s, time and erosion stripping fidelity, but creatively uncovered and reimagined into a showcase of that same process–playing the tape over and over as it burns and wears until it is something new and beautiful. Read more...

Thursday, October 24

• Rensselaer Union Read more...

This Monday, the Student Senate had Lester Gerhardt, Vice President of the Faculty Senate, come to our general body meeting to talk about the cooperative effort between the two bodies. The Faculty Senate has recently been brought back, so I thought it was important to have Gerhardt come over to help revive this lost connection. In the meeting, several different ideas and concepts were discussed, such as adding more detail to the course catalog that students use to pick classes. One such method would have a standard syllabus included with the listed class so students can learn more about the course before they sign up. The interaction between students and faculty was also discussed. Professors are more available and approachable than most people realize. As students, it seems many of us are shy about fostering a connection with our professors, and this is a problem that needs to be addressed. Read more...

Sometimes, you want to make something quick and cheap. The following recipes are easy to make and don’t take long. They also don’t use lots of cooking utensils which is perfect for quickly cleaning up afterwards. You also won’t need a collection of fancy cookware to make any of these recipes. I’ve also written them out in terms that, even if you’ve never cooked before, you’ll be able to understand. Read more...

Hello, RPI! I hope that everyone is as excited for Halloween as I am! This week, Circle K is doing their annual Haunted House in the ’87 Gym, which promises to be as spooky as ever. The Residence Student Association also hosted their annual Trick-or-Treating for local children in the Residence Halls. While this week is probably full of tests and homework assignments, I would encourage you to take the time to dress up in a costume, or carve a pumpkin to put on your front step to celebrate this wonderful time of the year. Read more...

“Looks like history is repeating itself,” scorned the captain, as the doom faced by the SS Titanic II became inevitable. This is the kind of cheesy writing one would expect from the novelization of this movie. The only problem is that I wrote the line exactly as the actor delivered it. The Asylum, a production studio based in Burbank, California, is a great source for this kind of movie. In fact, they’re a pioneer of the “mockbuster” genre-movies similar to major blockbusters, released around the same time, in order to cash in on the publicity. For example, 2007 saw the release of Michael Bay’s explosion-heavy Transformers. The year also saw the direct-to-DVD Transmorphers, a production of The Asylum. Believe it or not, they also released a Transmorphers: Fall of Man in 2009. Some other well-known productions include Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus, Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, Atlantic Rim, and this past summer’s closet hit, Sharknado. Read more...

On Wednesday, October 16, President Shirley Ann Jackson spoke at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center during RPI’s annual Fall Town Hall Meeting. Titled “Shared Joy in Individual Accomplishments,” the talk focused on RPI’s accomplishments over the course of the year. Read more...

The experience of college can be a whirlwind for many people. Between the novelty of the new experiences and the fact that many people are now living on their own for the first time in their lives, many college students can lose sight of one of the most important things: their health, both mental and physical. Living independently and taking care of yourself are some of the most important skills you will learn in college. Read more...

Editor's note: The following is an interview with Max Brooks, a well-known author. His titles include The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. Read more...

The Houston Field House erupted with the cheers from over four thousand students, parents, and fans as the Engineers took the ice for their home opener against Sacred Heart University Saturday night. As the lights dimmed to introduce RPI’s starting lineup, anyone sitting in the stands could just feel it; hockey was back. After shouting “RED!” during The Star Spangled Banner, the crowd was ready for the opening puck drop. Read more...

I’d like to jump into this notebook by saying something along the lines of “give back to the community,” but I think I need to provide a little context first. I mean, why should you listen to a random person expound on the benefits of giving? If I were the average RPI student, I probably wouldn’t. Read more...

On October 18–21, over 6,000 college students and environmentalists from all over the United States congregated together for Power Shift 2013. Power Shift is an environmental conference run by the Energy Action Coalition. Power Shift 2013 was the fourth Power Shift, but the first to be held outside of the Washington, DC area. The venue chosen was the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, which is LEED certified. Read more...