On Monday, November 28, the Student Senate passed a resolution strongly criticizing the Jackson administration. The reaction by the Jackson administration and by the board of trustees was depressing in its dismissal of the Senate’s legitimate concerns, but ultimately was not surprising. President Shirley Ann Jackson has tasked Vice President for Student Life Timothy Sams to “correct any misunderstanding that led to this resolution”—both declining to address the Senate’s concerns herself and dismissing the Senate’s concerns as a “misunderstanding” instead of a legitimate grievance. The board of trustees, for its part, does “not believe [the recommendations] are well-founded,” going on to say that “the Board endorses President Jackson, and her vision, leadership, pathways, and actions she has brought in the past, brings in the present, and will bring in the future … Her leadership has had a transformative impact on the Institute through the success of The Rensselaer Plan.” Read more...
Yearly Archives: 2011
The word “bridges” carries a built-in fascination. Young or old, we all like bridges—they represent a triumph of humanity. Read more...
To the Editor:
For those of you who have never visited the Occupy-ers at Zuccotti Park, or have not visited lately, here’s a flash—it is now a paramilitary encampment, and it has been since the riot-police raid that cleared the tents. Police officers outnumber protesters at least ten to one. On Occupy’s “Day of Action,” many of us marched, completely cocooned in a “police escort.” We might as well have marched around inside a police station. Afterwards, it took me quite a while just to weave through the layers of police to reach barricades preventing entrance. After elbowing my way along the barricades, a small opening finally appeared, filled with loitering police—quite a trek to simply enter that small alleyway of a “park.” Within 20 seconds of finally entering, I witnessed a police riot close up—not the first or the last to occur in the hours I was there. The media calls these “scuffles with police,” meaning seven to ten policemen attack an unarmed college student with clubs and drag him out with blood covering his face. The Occupy contribution to the scuffle is chanting, “Peacefully, peacefully” to their own ranks along with “The whole world is watching,” which it, surprisingly, is. Read more...
Well, here we are at last: the last week of classes of the semester. Finals start next week, of course, and after that the campus will slowly drain of life as most of the students head away for the Christmas vacation. It’s difficult, empirical evidence to the contrary, to credit and accept the fact that I’ve been here in the U.S., at RPI, since August, and that I’ve survived (if barely) my first semester, with all the highs and lows, triumphs and disasters, that entails. Even if the freezing cold weather I was first warned about long before I set foot in Troy has singularly failed to materialise to date, and my internal chronometer notwithstanding, it is December: Where has the time gone? Read more...
To The Editor:
As the one-year anniversary of my on-ice incident approaches, I find myself thinking more about what happened that day and how thankful I am for the response and support of so many people around campus. To briefly recap, during a hockey game last December 30 in Alabama, my neck was sliced while we were playing the University of Alabama at Huntsville. One of my teammates was tripped and his skate came up and caught me in the throat, causing a three-inch cut that literally threatened my life. From there my teammate, Alex Angers-Goulet ’12, and our athletic trainer, Chris Thompson, applied constant pressure to keep blood from squirting out. They also kept me as calm as they could until the doctors could get to the training room and the paramedics could get me to the hospital. When we got back to Troy, I continued to receive tremendous support from my teammates and the entire campus community. There were almost too many to remember every one, but I do recall finding a huge fruit and candy basket that was left in my locker. It was sent to me by President Shirley Ann Jackson, and it included a personal note from her. I will always remember her words of encouragement during that tough time. Her support, as well as that of others on campus and throughout the area, helped me and my family more than I can express. What I can say is, I am proud we are all members of the Rensselaer community. Read more...
I hope everyone is having a great week so far. My Derby article is a bit scattered this week. I’ve chosen to dedicate the first portion of the article to recent business and the second portion of the article to upcoming events. Read more...
To the Editor:
Roughly one week has elapsed since the Student Senate passed its now infamous “Motion Number 2,” regarding the state of the Institute and the leadership of President Shirley Ann Jackson. Over this time, I have closely listened to and read any responses I could find. There have been many, and they have varied widely, from concern about the Senate’s ability to pass such a motion, to doubt that it will change anything, and to opposition to such an action. I have definitely heard some negative responses, but the vast majority of people either say they wish they were better informed, or say this type of action was a long time in coming. I have had professors come up to me to thank me personally, saying that the current situation was out of control and something needed to happen. I have had Troy community members express their support. Some of the most encouraging reactions have been those from members of the administration, who have said nothing to dispute any of the content of the motion and, in many cases, even corroborate it. Read more...
Ranger Challenge Detachment Cadets Derrick Giggey, Jonathan Ritter, Brian Looney, Ryan Sweet, Shaun Looney, Rob Shalvoy, Gordon Brown and RPI students Michelle Cody ’12, Adam Taylor ’12, Adam Huller ’13, and Kevin Downey ’15 ranked second of out 44 schools, and first place in the Rudder Division, in a 48-hour test of warrior skills, strength, stamina, and mental grit. Those 44 schools included the United States Military Academy at West Point, the United States Naval Academy, and the Valley Forge Military Academy. Read more...
To the Editor:
Recently, I attended a memorial service for Sterling Olmstead, who in the 1960s, chaired what was then called the Department of Language and Literature. Olmstead was a Quaker, and the service was conducted “according to the manner of Friends,” meaning that much of the time was spent in sitting silently, waiting for the spirit to move someone to speak, and listening closely to both the silence and what was said. Read more...
On Monday, the Student Senate convened to finalize their work on a resolution put forward at their last meeting two weeks ago. The resolution in question analyzes the current financial state of the Institute, the atmosphere for students and faculty alike as engendered by the leadership style of President Shirley Ann Jackson and the Institute’s ability to continue to follow the path put forward by in The Rensselaer Plan. Read more...
Among many questions asked at the recent town hall meeting, one that seems most relevant over these past days was a concern questioning the lack of of communication between RPI’s administration and the students. President Shirley Ann Jackson’s response cited the communication routes available between students and the deans/vice presidents. In particular, reference was given to the semesterly Pizza with the Cabinet. Read more...
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Let me try to put this game into context for you, because, let’s be honest, without first narrowing the frame of this review, I could literally talk and write for the better part of a day on all of the reasons why this is the greatest thing since both sliced bread and the second metaphor I think of. (Side note: The game contains both sliced bread and the second metaphor I can think of. You can eat both, and they are each physics-operable.) Without going into the fact that this game’s pedigree makes any royal family you care to name look like they grew up in a double-wide somewhere in the terrifying depths of Alabama, and without going into the fact that the game is, I kid you not, theoretically infinite, I will submit to you simply this: Read more...
Following a devastating 5-1 loss to Union College before the brief break, RPI men’s hockey bounced back to earn its third win of the season, defeating the Rochester Institute of Technology. The Engineers, backed by freshman goaltender Scott Diebold, blanked the RIT Tigers in a 2-0 decision. Rensselaer moves to 3-10 overall, while RIT falls to 5-4-2. Read more...
On Tuesday, RPI’s Student Senate hosted its semesterly Pizza with the Cabinet. The event used to be known as Pizza with the President, until President Shirley Ann Jackson decided that the cabinet members would be more qualified to answer the specific questions of students. Jackson frequently uses the event as an example of the various communication channels available. Unfortunately, the only cabinet member to make an appearance was Vice President of Student Life Timothy Sams. In addition, the Dean of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Mary Simoni accompanied him. Read more...
This is my final Editor’s Corner. This Sunday, The Poly will be turning over a new slate and electing a new Editorial Board and new editor in chief. Staring at a blank document, cursor blinking, all I can think is, I wish I’d done more. Read more...
As a child, I often biked around my neighborhood. It was a good way to get exercise and to visit my nearby friends. Most importantly, though, I found that it was a lot of fun. I am ashamed to admit this, but as I grew up, I started to ride my bike less and less. This decrease in cycling activity seemed to peak around the time that I got my driver’s license and moved away to attend RPI. Read more...
Starting the weekend prior to Thanksgiving break, the RPI women’s hockey team entered one of its most difficult stretches of the season. November 20 and 21 saw the Engineers host reigning national-champions the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers, while this weekend brought Syracuse University to the Houston Field House. Rensselaer kept it close in game one against the Badgers, nearly pulling off the upset in a 4-3 loss, but ran out of steam in game two which saw Wisconsin put up eight goals to RPI’s two. The Engineers’ matchup with the Syracuse Orange had a similar result, with the visitors coming out on top in a 4-3 win in the first match, but this time Rensselaer followed with a 2-1 victory. RPI now sits 4-10-4 on the season, while Syracuse is 6-10-0. Wisconsin remains nearly perfect with a 15-1-0 mark. Read more...
The Stop Online Piracy Act, which is more formally known as, “To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combatting the theft of US property, and for other purposes,” is a bill put forward in the House of Representative by Republican Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas on October 26. A similar bill, in terms of intent and language is also being presented before the Senate; however, SOPA has received a significantly larger portion of media attention due to its more rigorous and strict guidelines with respect to enforcement and punishment of pirates and those deemed to be supporting pirates. Read more...
If I could give a condensed description of the Town Hall meeting I attended two weeks ago, it would go a little something like this: “It started late, and then I was given some cuddly feel-good information about how the school really is awesome and how such a great job is really being done. After that the floor was opened to questions, most of which President Shirley Ann Jackson deferred to her staff, which then answered with ‘Well, we’ve actually been talking about that, and …’.” Read more...