The women’s lacrosse team rebounded from a difficult home opener last Tuesday with a win over No. 12 in the nation Nazareth College this past Saturday at Renwyck Field. The Engineers bounced back to earn the 12-11 decision over the Golden Flyers to improve their record to 2-2. Nazareth, with the loss, drops to 3-2 on the season. Junior Afton Marshall led the charge against the Golden Flyers, tallying a game-high four goals—including the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining on the clock. Read more...

During the Spring Town Meeting, President Jackson announced that Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Barack Obama Peter Orszag will be delivering this year’s Commencement address at the May 29th ceremony. Read more...

At the President’s Spring Town Meeting, President Shirley Ann Jackson announced some key financial updates that will be occurring during the coming year at Rensselaer. The Board of Trustees recently approved the Institute Budget at its meeting on February 27 that will “enable us to focus our energy and resources on the core activities that are central to our mission and purpose, with continued investment in faculty hiring and in selected student life initiatives,” according to Jackson. Read more...

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With the implementation of the Clustered Learning Advocacy and Support for Students initiative, spots for four assistant deans for the residence commons and a class dean have opened up. Currently, three of the four live-in assistant dean positions are filled, and the school is in the process of searching for someone to fill the fourth spot. The appointment of the first class dean was announced to the campus community on February 24, and class dean for the Rensselaer Class of 2013 Amy Pettengill’s first day on the job was Monday. Read more...

On Sunday, the first upperclassmen lottery since the beginning of the Clustered Learning Advocacy and Support for Students initiative concluded. Since this is the first year sophomores will be required to live on campus, fewer rooms were left for juniors and seniors, and many students awaited the results with anxiety. However, the preliminary numbers provided by the Office of Residence Life indicate that the lottery went smoothly. “I understand that no one who wanted to live on campus was turned away,” said Acting Assistant Vice President for Student Life Tom Tarantelli. Read more...

Last Thursday, anyone who walked by Russell Sage Dining Hall and noticed a Hydrive Hummer outside of the building knew that the Sodexo Vendor Food Show was underway. This annual event, which features products from Gillette Creamery, f’REAL shakes, and Sobe, was free to all students who have a meal plan. Excited for a free dinner, I was amazed at the sheer amount of food the dining hall had to offer—making use of both floors of the dining hall. The main dining area of Sage featured Sodexo creations, along with a few familiar faces from the McNeil Room of the Union. Read more...

After nearly 300 minutes of play over the weekend—including the longest women’s hockey game in NCAA history—the Engineers came out on top in the best-of-three series against the No. 10 in the nation Quinnipiac University Bobcats in the ECAC quarterfinals. After dropping the first game in a two-overtime session by a score of 2-1, the Engineers bounced back with a 1-0 shutout, followed by a 2-1 win of their own after five extra frames. RPI, seeded fifth in the tournament, will head to Ithaca, N.Y., this upcoming weekend to take on the No. 8 in the nation Cornell University Big Red in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Read more...

In response to last week’s discontent expressed by Information Technology sophomores regarding the program’s changes, a meeting to address concerns of IT students was called by Assistant Dean of Information Technology and Chair of the Tetherless World Research Constellation Jim Hendler. All students within the department were invited; approximately 15 students attended, along with IT Project Manager Linda Kramarchyk and Assistant Vice President for Information Services Jeff Miner ’78. The meeting was an open discussion for Hendler to explain the change and for students to ask questions. Read more...

In an e-mail to the campus community on February 25, Vice President for Administration Claude Rounds announced new updates to the plans for the president’s house. Following the recent meeting of the Troy Zoning Board of Appeals where a request for variance to the residential zone maximum height limitation was denied, Rounds expects that a newly revised site plan will be considered at the Troy Planning and Zoning Board hearing meeting on March 11. Read more...

Over the past few years at RPI, one of the most common issues has been the student opinion that the administration either won’t listen to their concerns or just flat out doesn’t care. Through the years, many feel that the ’Tute Screw is alive and well, from greek initiatives to resident assistant compensation to housing grants. Regardless of my personal opinion on the matter, if students feel this way about the administration, it is a large problem for which resolution is vital. Read more...

I’m from the Jersey Shore. Not the shore you may have seen on MTV, known for intrigue, big hair, and the occasional Staten Island accent, but the shore that’s there even in the winter, when the tourists aren’t around. Read more...

I spent the better part of the week participating with a student team from the Lally School of Management & Technology at Georgetown University’s Business Strategy Challenge. Colleges including New York University, Northeastern University, Southern Methodist University, and Clemson University attended and we spent most of our time on Georgetown’s campus. Call it school spirit, but I missed what we had at RPI. They have their own student union, but it is just an organization, not a building. RPI students certainly have a bigger voice when it comes to funding not only a building and its services, but athletics, clubs, organizations, and programming. I guess one doesn’t know what they have until they’re displaced for a few days… Read more...

We present this article in hopes of making the current student body aware of changes that have been made within the Hillel Jewish Organization. Recently, Lester Rubenfeld was appointed as a faculty advisor. He will assist us in increasing awareness of Hillel amongst the Rensselaer community, and, when necessary, will interject on our behalf. He will also work with us to integrate the organization with the larger Capital District Jewish community, as well as with other Hillel chapters. Read more...

On November 30, 2009, the Rensselaer campus community was informed of the Institute’s intentions to become a smoke-free campus, effective July 1, 2010. As we continue with this initiative, the Institute has expanded it to be a tobacco-free campus. Read more...

One indirect goal of the Rensselaer Union is to provide events that attract a large subset of the student body which is generally involved in different activities. Another goal is the marketing of the Union itself, including the hundreds of great clubs that are available for everybody to participate in. This year we’ll be trying a new event to help achieve both of these goals and have a good deal of fun in the process. Read more...

Fellowship, leadership, and a lifelong commitment to community service are daily themes in the lives of sorority women from our college members to alumni. On Monday, March 1, these women (who number in the millions) celebrated International Badge Day during National Women’s History Month. On that day, all of us honored our separate and distinct greek affiliations by wearing our badges or letters. It was a moment in time set aside to acknowledge successful women around the globe—whether they are U.S. senators or incoming university freshmen working for humanitarian aid in far-away continents. Read more...

If there is a single action in your life that reflects your ideals and values, it’s where and how you spend your money. When we talk about change, especially regarding environmental and social issues, we talk about voting, becoming more politically engaged, and volunteering our time. These are excellent ways to make a difference in our society; however, there is one mode of change which bears more power in our society than any other—the dollar. Read more...

When walking down the streets during Troy Night Out, there was a different feel in the air: stillness. Usually the streets are filled with laughter, music, and hype, but this month the hustle and bustle was deterred by a wintry mix. Rain, snow, slush, and cold made for a quiet evening, prompting the majority of students to not wander off campus. Instead, they spent a “Troy Night In.” Read more...

This past weekend the Clothe-A-Child Wing Tasting event filled the McNeil Room with the hot, sweet, and savory aroma of hundreds of chicken wings. Local vendors and restaurants gathered there to provide Rensselaer community members with their version of the chicken wing. At $10 a ticket, all the proceeds from the occasion were put toward the Clothe-A-Child campaign run by the Rensselaer Union. Read more...