On Monday, December 2, the Student Senate met and discussed issues relating to Sodexo and electronic voting. Some graduate students discussed how issues affecting Sodexo workers could affect students. Policies Sodexo is implementing include not giving workers sick days, which means that workers handling food might come in sick. Members were confirmed for the Judicial Board. The Senate discussed electronic voting and feasibility. Committees continued working on projects including car-sharing and excuse policies. Read more...

You may have read in some of this fall semester’s issues of The Poly that we, The Poly, were going under, struggling to stay aloft, clinging onto our seat cushion turned floatation device, and yanking on our oxygen mask and hoping the bag would inflate (even though, regardless, oxygen is flowing). Read more...

It was altogether, quite fitting that the newly-reformed Rensselaer Orchestra’s first concert took place on a chilly, gray afternoon, considering the thematic elements of the music programmed. Read more...

Hey there, it’s your friendly campus newspaper, and we’d like to give everyone an update on our status as the fall semester comes to a close. It’s no secret that The Poly had a rough start to this academic year. We started the semester in debt to the Rensselaer Union, and complications ensued. We’ve always been a self-funded venture, but it turns out our advertisements weren’t fully covering our costs. To help the paper restructure itself, we decided to switch to printing every other week for the current semester, with online issues published during off-weeks. This allowed for more time to work on each issue and provided more downtime so that other parts of the paper could be worked on. For example, our different printing schedule allowed us to redo our advertising strategy, pursue more recruiting opportunities, make more connections, and make contact with more sources. Read more...

So I’m freaking out. On Saturday, December 7, I will be hosting RPI’s first ever Eco Princess Festival at the Rensselaer Union from 1–5 pm. That’s right—the festival is not being hosted by any one club, it’s being directed by just one individual (me). Luckily, I’m not completely alone. Read more...

It’s the little things. The faint scent of fresh laundry. The first bite of a perfectly constructed sandwich. Sure, this semester may have been endless nights of studying, but for me, it’s these small pleasures that keep me running day to day. I find that the way that American culture has evolved prevents people from stepping aside and appreciating those minute things that add detail to our monotonous lives. We always feel the need to be doing something—to fill all our time with productivity—otherwise we’re wasting precious time. But I’m saying that we don’t have to. Read more...

On Friday, November 22, the Rensselaer Pride Alliance held the Fall Charity Drag Show: Hope II. While most of the performers were not RPI students, the show brought in many students and members of the Rensselaer community. Proceeds from the show went to the Albany Damien Center. Read more...

Before I came to RPI, many of my parent’s friends would poke fun at the stereotypical weight gain that comes with the of transitioning to college life, otherwise known as the freshman fifteen. While I used to laugh at their japes, I now realize the severity of the situation. The struggle is real, people. Read more...

Hello, RPI. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Break with family and friends. Thanksgiving Break was very late this year, and I am still adjusting to the fact that this is the last week of school. Time at RPI seems to go by very slowly when we have exams or lots of homework, but here we are now at the end of the semester with just a week left of classes. If you are a freshman on this campus and worried about exams, take a deep breath because you’re going to be fine. Just make sure to go over your notes, listen to your professors, and get help now in the areas that you struggle in. Finals are always daunting, but you grow accustomed to them as your time at RPI increases. Just always remember to study hard even if you did well on the previous exams because you can’t remember everything. Read more...

Hello, RPI! I hope that everyone is recovering from their tryptophan-induced comas and is ready to get back to work! There is just one short week left of classes, and then finals are upon us. I hope everyone manages to make it through these last few weeks before enjoying our very long winter break. Read more...

It’s almost the end of the semester! Time to hunker down and load up on caffeine and sugar to pull a few all-nighters to learn a semester’s worth of material for the big test! Right? WRONG! Read more...

Editor’s note: This notebook was run in an issue last March. It is relevant to today’s issue because The Poly is holding elections this weekend. Please note that some facts and personnel positions are outdated. Read more...

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

All photos: Joseph Shen and Nathan Greene/The Polytechnic Read more...

On Monday, the Student Senate discussed the possibility of a car-sharing program at RPI. Possible changes to the Rensselaer Union that would affect the Senate as a whole were also discussed. None of these changes have been put into effect yet; both discussions were meant to gauge the thoughts of senators on the issues at stake and provide feedback for those heading the committees in charge of the projects. Read more...

For a while now, I’ve been making a list of my favorite quotes. They are happy and sad, serious and silly, long and short. They come from a variety of different sources, including movies, TV shows, and songs, as well as things people have said to me, papers I’ve read, speeches I’ve heard, and more. Read more...

West Hall auditorium was decked in streamers and bright string lights on Saturday, November 9, as the Indian Student Association hosted its annual Diwali Show. Also known as “Deepavali,” Diwali is a five-day Hindu festival that signifies that start of a new year. Read more...

The Engineers faced off against the Dutchmen of Union College in a two-game series this past weekend. Friday night’s game was played in Schenectady, a contest that saw RPI battle to a 4-3 loss. Rensselaer was outshot 32-21 on Friday and had five penalties putting them a man down for 10 minutes. Senior Forward Brock Higgs scored the first goal for Rensselaer unassisted and shorthanded early in the first. Union then went on to score the next four goals, tallying one in the first and second periods and two in the first two minutes of the third period. RPI made a strong comeback attempt led by junior forward Matt Neal’s two goals in the third. The first was assisted by junior forward Ryan Haggerty and sophomore forward Mike Zalewski and the second by junior forward Jacob Laliberte and Haggerty. Down one, RPI got a chance to even the game late in the third when Union took a penalty, but the Engineers were unable to find a goal. Read more...

On Friday, November 19, the Tau Nu chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, also known as FIJI, at RPI and the Chi chapter at Union College held their first FIJI Puck Run together. The philanthropic event consisted of brothers from each institution running segments of a 20 mile relay from RPI’s Houston Field House to Union’s Messa Rink between 3:30 and 7:30 pm. While running 20 miles together is an accomplishment in and of itself, both chapters fundraised by asking local businesses to sponsor runners in order to raise money to donate to the United Service Organizations, one of Phi Gamma Delta’s official charities. The USO provides support for members of the American armed forces and their families. In all, over $2,400 in donations were raised. Read more...

As many of you may start to find out, living in this world without a credit history can be a major problem. When you get your first internship, you will most likely be finding yourself renting an apartment and paying for utilities. Without a credit history, many landlords, renting agencies, and services/utilities may not be so keen to allow you to move in or provide you their service. Even if they do, you will find yourself with very high security deposits. Read more...