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The Polytechnic
Vol. CXLIII No. 14
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Rensselaer football breaks record in game against Hilbert

MOIZ STEENHUIS & SHAH SHEIKH·1 DAY AGO

Rensselaer delivered an 83-point beatdown against Hilbert College, the greatest margin of victory in program history.

A decisive defeat. Kyle Kershaw/The Polytechnic

Boundary Conditions

Rare earths

MEHER RANDERIA·2 DAYS AGO

Editor in Chief Meher Randeria ’28 introduces: Boundary Conditions; a column that attempts to explore the science behind decisions that shape our world. First up: rare earth elements, and why the hard part is the chemistry, not the mining.

The start of the soury contest. Matthew Treanor/The Polytechnic

Photo Short Story

Sour showdown at Sage

MATTHEW TREANOR·2 DAYS AGO

For the third year in a row, students gathered outside of Russell Sage Dining Hall to see who could eat an entire lemon the quickest.

Student dunks a plate of cool whip on Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy Senior Lecturer Julian Georg. Meher Randeria/The Polytechnic

Photo Short Story

Newton's Fourth Law: “Pie Your Physics Professors”

MEHER RANDERIA·1 DAY AGO

RPI students were given the rare opportunity to pie their physics professors.

Campus Security

Annual summary of crime and violations on campus

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ·1 DAY AGO

RPI Department of Public Safety released an annual report detailing its extensive security and fire-prevention measures, as well as the previous year's crime statistics.

Local News

Local communities rally for Troy family after fatal house fire

THE POLYTECHNIC EDITORIAL BOARD·2 DAYS AGO

After the recent tragedy, the Troy community rallied in support of the Rizzo-Ruelfe family.

Book Review

Nevernight should be a classic fantasy novel

AUDREY JOHNSON·2 DAYS AGO

Contributing Editor Audrey Johnson ’29 reviews Nevernight, a novel that blends school fantasy with traditional fantasy into a coming-of-age revenge story.

RPI Academia

School of Engineering introduces new Robotics Engineering Major

MATTHEW TREANOR

The Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering announced the approval of the new Robotics Engineering major by the New York State Education Department on August 26.

The Little Pecks sign on Broadway. Moiz Steenhuis/The Polytechnic

Food Review

I can't put down the (coffee) cup!

ANISHA BISWAS & ELENI DOUGHNEY & FEE MACWHINNIE·2 DAYS AGO

The Poly wandered into downtown Troy and sipped on some of the most popular coffees to determine the favorites.

A reflection of Folsom Library on the glass panels of EMPAC. Ronan Hevenor/The Polytechnic

Student Senate

Library administration cite budget concerns as hours decrease

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ

Folsom Library Directors fielded questions about recent changes including a reduction in hours, the reorganization of library administration, and changes to the first floor study rooms.

Student Senate

Senate fails to fully rectify the unconstitutional UAR, freshman representatives confirmed to E-Board

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ

The Student Senate failed to amend the UAR committee to coincide with the Constitution of the Union, and confirmed the appointment of the Executive Board’s Class of 2030 representative as well as two Club and Organization representatives.

On-Campus Event

Assembling Rally Week, a work in progress

RILEY SOBEL

The week-long Rally Week event was marketed as the premiere of the biggest spirit celebration on campus. Reviews were mixed, but it garnered much attention.

Academia Beyond

Navier-Stokes, Euler, and the AI priority question

MEHER RANDERIA

OpenAI announced on September 8 that an internal artificial intelligence model had resolved a version of the Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness problem, one of seven Clay Mathematics Institute Millennium Prize Problems. Mathematicians Dr. Tristan Buckmaster and Dr. Levent Alpöge had just solved a similar version of the problem and were in conversation with OpenAI.

Student Senate

Senate approves one motion and deadlocked on another in the first meeting of the fall semester

AUDREY JOHNSON & MIGUEL VAZQUEZ

At the first Student Senate meeting of the Fall 2026 semester, Griffin Oliver ’27 introduced two new amendments to the Senate bylaws, only one of which passed.

Interview

Transcript: Dr. Cameron Cogburn interview

MEHER RANDERIA & DEMETRIOS SKORDAS

The Poly recently sat down with Dr. Cameron Cogburn to discuss RPI's IBM Quantum System and the Nighthawk r1 chip. The following is a transcript of the interview.

Student Senate

Senate endorses STAR and RPA petition, multiple committee appointments

ELENI DOUGHNEY

Senate endorsed the Student Transgender Association RPI and Rensselaer Pride Alliance petition surrounding the school's process for changing sex classifications. Griffin Oliver '27 was appointed VGMIA, Ryan Kilgore '27 was appointed VGMEA, Zach Nobles '27 was appointed AAC Chairperson, and Charlie Fowle '29 was appointed FSC Chairperson.

Student Senate

Senate splits the role of Vice Grand Marshal, establishes Rules and Administration Committee

ELENI DOUGHNEY

Senate passed an amendment to split Vice Grand Marshal into external and internal roles, created the Rules and Administration Committee, and confirmed multiple committee chairperson appointments.

Executive Board

E-Board grants reimbursement for EWB’s emergency plane ticket out of Qatar

KYLE PAN

E-Board grants many travel subsidies and reimbursements, but almost reduces the emergency subsidy requested by Engineers Without Borders’, by citing the RUGP.

Paris Syndrome lead artist Miho Hatori lends her vocals to the performance. Maryam Farooqi/The Polytechnic

EMPAC

Percussive feedback, Strange Jazz, doom metal at EMPAC’s TOPOS festival

THE POLYTECHNIC

EMPAC's annual festival built itself off of experiment, cultural conversation, and stretching the boundaries of what a “music festival” can be.

On-Campus Event

Rensselaer Games Showcase changes the game

ELENI DOUGHNEY

RPI’s Game Development Club hosts their 2025 Games Showcase, highlighting the achievements of student game developers.

Anthony Santiago/The Polytechnic

Features

Onstage and behind the scenes of the ordinary life of The Living Tombstone

RILEY SOBEL

UPAC Concerts brought out the "Five Nights at Freddy’s band” this April.

Public-use chalk art on the patio of the Union at the festival. Riley Sobel/The Polytechnic

Photo Short Story

Touch Grass Music Festival continues performance season at RPI

RILEY SOBEL

In the one-weekend gap between the RPI Players’ last performance of Something Rotten! and The Living Tombstone coming to campus, appreciators of the arts got something new.

Mayhem at the Provost Picnic, a challenge to stay in the game. Anthony Santiago/The Polytechnic

GM Week 2026

Uncovering the mysteries of GM Week: 2026

ELENI DOUGHNEY

A week full of mystery-themed events to celebrate Grand Marshal Week 2026, including a casino night, a scavenger hunt, and the annual Provost Picnic.

Sam Javanrouh/The Polytechnic

Opinion

On the precipice: six national teams that lie on the World Cup’s doorstep

MOIZ STEENHUIS

Six stories picked from the twenty-two teams that remain in the running for spots in this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

Editorial Notebook

Curious creatures

MEHER RANDERIA

Editor in Chief Meher Randeria ’28 shares her experience with undergraduate research.

Editorial Notebook

The power of a protagonist as smart as you

ANISHA BISWAS

Managing Editor Anisha Biswas ’27 discusses the impact of a realistic and relatable horror protagonist as shown in the recently released Resident Evil.

Editorial Notebook

A review of The Stranger

KYLE PAN

Editorial/Opinion Editor Kyle Pan ’29 gives his thoughts on The Stranger (L'Étranger) by Albert Camus.

Letter to the Editor

Study the humanities to make the most of your STEM education

MITCH MURRAY

Dr. Mitch R. Murray is a scholar who teaches literature, culture, and media in the School of HASS at RPI. In this article, he shares his thoughts on the importance of the arts now, more than ever, in a STEM-focused society.

Letter to the Editor

Orion and Dr. Bae’s litigation continues as RPI’s own discovery documents refute it’s “good faith” defense

CHULSUNG BAE

Dr. Bae addresses his ongoing litigation against RPI, citing specific discovery documents and calling for transparency from the university's leadership, in this letter to the editor.

Staff Editorial

What is The Poly watching?

THE POLYTECHNIC STAFF

Not sure what to watch next? The Polytechnic staff shares their favorite shows worth streaming.

Editorial Notebook

Project Hail Mary is the friends we made along the way

AUDREY JOHNSON

Contributing Editor Audrey Johnson ’29 gives her review of Project Hail Mary, a movie adaptation of Andy Weir’s book of the same name. It’s a science fiction movie about friendship that will make you want to discover more.

Top Hat

Beware the Fratification of Student Government

TIBURON BENAVIDES

Grand Marshal Tiburon "T" Leon Benavides '21, '27G looks to future RPI student leaders to advocate for both Greek and graduate students as RPI navigates a long-term demographic shift away from Greek Life and toward a larger graduate population in this Top Hat.

Locked in a fierce tackle. Kyle Kershaw/The Polytechnic

Football

Hobart picked apart by Rensselaer

RILEY SOBEL

Rensselaer picked off Hobart twice in a 33-7 win, snapping a two-game losing skid.

Men's Soccer

Engineers face RIT in opener for Liberty League

SHAH SHEIKH

Rensselaer traded chances with RIT for 90 minutes but neither side managed to break the stalemate in their first Liberty League match of the season.

Men's Soccer

Engineers suffer a heartbreaking loss vs SUNY Oneonta

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ

The Engineers concede a penalty kick in the 84th minute to lose 1-0 to SUNY Oneonta in devastating fashion.

Men's Soccer

Engineers defeat the Keene State Owls

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ

Engineers quell the Keene State Owls 3-1, with goals from Christoper McKinney, Justin Woodbine, and Harrison Brownlow, in a tense and chippy game.

Engineers rallying for a change in strategy. Kyle Kershaw/The Polytechnic

Football

Rensselaer gets clobbered by the Pioneers

MOIZ STEENHUIS

Rensselaer collapsed in the second half in a 38-14 drubbing to visiting Utica University.

The men's team celebrating their well-earned win. Kyle Kershaw/The Polytechnic

Men's Football

Roll red, roll white: Rensselaer rumbles over WPI for the Transit Trophy

SHAH SHEIKH & MOIZ STEENHUIS

Rensselaer stifled rivals Worcester Polytechnic Institute 35-7 to claim their sixth consecutive Transit Trophy.

Women's Soccer

Engineers undefeated at home

SHAH SHEIKH & MIGUEL VAZQUEZ

RPI Women’s Soccer brought home a resounding 5-0 win over VTSU Castleton and a dominating 6-1 over SUNY Potsdam to keep their undefeated streak alive.

Interview

Transcript: Eric Lang interview

MOIZ STEENHUIS

The Poly sat down with men's hockey coach Eric Lang last semester to get his thoughts on his first season with the team.

Sports

Weekend Sports Roundup 10/31 - 11/1

MOIZ STEENHUIS

Football continues their strong season.