On Monday, February 25, the Student Senate held its weekly general body meeting. The primary focus of the discussion was the Capital District Transportation Authority’s bus routes around the area of RPI, particularly the 286 route. Read more...

The current winter—like many before it—has been an active one. As one might expect in Troy, there have been both 40 degree days and storms leaving over six inches of snow. Troy’s unique weather presents no end of safety issues, and RPI is tasked with keeping everyone who crosses campus safe. Keeping pathways clear of both snow and ice is a difficult task, but Rensselaer does a great job. Throughout the season, RPI’s roads and sidewalks have been consistently clearer than the surrounding areas. Read more...

James’ Take

Though Humble Bundle Mojam 2 is officially over, it can still be purchased until March 2, with all the money raised going to charity. In this bundle, you will find ten indie games produced over a three day session, including those talked about by my fellow reviewer and the ones I will discuss: Endless Nuclear Kittens, Wasteland Kings, Space Hunk, and 3918. Read more...

For the first time in school history, the men’s ski team at Rensselaer will be heading to the USCSA National Championship, to be held in Sun Valley, Idaho, in early March. Led by sophomore Paul Koetke, who represented RPI as an individual at the competition last winter, the team took one of two places granted to the Mideast Division for the national championship. Read more...

The public generally correlates DNA damage with aging. However, the effect of mutation accumulation in the genome has not been answered. These ideas, among others, are the focuses of Assistant Professor Patrick Maxwell’s experiments. It is well established that as organisms age, there is an accumulation of mutations, but these mutations have not been shown as a casual factor for aging. Read more...

I am an overachiever.

But perhaps that’s not the right word. “Workaholic” isn’t much better, given that I do waste entirely too much time playing video games. Read more...

First off, the discovery that the First Lady has been relegated to presenting the Oscar for Best Picture is both hilarious and a little depressing, but mostly just very random. Also, the fact that no movies actually got shafted Sunday night is pretty surprising; maybe there’s hope for that silly statuette after all (read: probably not). However, while not serving as a witness to what most critics will say was probably Seth MacFarlane’s finest work, I was busy enjoying Steven Soderbergh’s newest film, Side Effects. Side Effects is another genre piece for the eclectic Soderbergh; he went so far as to create his own genre for this one: the pharmaceutical thriller. Now, your question is probably what mine was before seeing this movie: since when are those orange prescription bottles capable of being the central plot point of ... well, anything that isn’t an episode of Intervention? Read more...

On Sunday, February 17, RPI’s Ballroom Dance Team made an appearance at the 14th Annual Holy Cross Ballroom Competition in Worcester, Mass. The competition included many events in all four competitive styles, which included American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard, and International Latin. The competition even included an extra hustle and salsa section, in which RPI team members swept first place in both events. Seniors Steve Lentine and Yaroslava Cassell competed in Advanced Hustle, while senior Jim LaDouce and University of Albany graduate student Jennifer Lippens participated in Advanced Salsa. Holy Cross, as well as all of the other northeastern competitions the team attends, has events for rookies—yes, even someone brand new to ballroom dance can compete!—all the way to open level. Read more...

Something I’ve realized over the course of my long and wise 18 years in this world is that when I begin something that I’m really interested in, I pursue it overzealously. At first, I pour hours upon hours into it. It’s all I talk about, it’s all that’s really on my mind. Nothing can go wrong when I’m working on this thing. I think that I can solve all problems relating to it immediately and that I’ll become deft at it in no time. Call me crazy, but I feel like other people have experienced this feeling before. Read more...

Holy Mountain. I don’t even know where to start. Read more...

Hello, RPI! Last week I wrote about why you should get involved in Student Government, and about the things you learn from running in the elections and holding an officer position. However, someone asked me, “do you think you need to hold a position to really be a leader?” I liked this question a lot, and it made me think a little bit. With over 200 Rensselaer Union clubs and organizations, around 30 greek organizations, and all levels of athletics, there are bound to be over 400 leadership positions that students could potentially hold. Read more...

With the release of the exam schedule and Spring Break creeping around the corner, I would suggest intercity bus travel as an economical and entertaining alternative to get you to your destination. At least twice a semester, I make the 864-mile trip to Tennessee via the “Megabus experience,” often for less than $10. Originally based out of the UK, Megabus has transported 20 million customers to over 100 locations in 35 states. Fares on the 20 ton, double-decker buses are as low as $1, plus a 50 cent reservation fee. Their buses hold up to 81 passengers and offer free Wi-Fi, power outlets, and clean bathrooms. Read more...

While it might sound a little cliché, it never fails to amaze me how fast time flies while in college. Just think, in just over a week, it will be Spring Break and my final semester here at RPI will be half over! First off this week, I would like to highlight some upcoming events here on campus. Tomorrow night, the Rensselaer Music Association will host its annual Pops Concert, featuring musical selections from the Repertory Jazz Orchestra, the Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, and the Symphonic Orchestra with special guest vocalist Janice Pendarvis. The concert will begin at 6 pm in the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center Concert Hall and is completely free! Read more...

Only a month into the semester, the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council hosted a meeting of all the greek leaders on campus. Each fraternity and sorority president and pledge educator met with the IFC and Panhel executive boards and Greek Dean Matthew Hunt to discuss chapter goals for the coming year, leadership strategies, and the issue of hazing at RPI. Read more...

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On Thursday, February 14, the Union Executive Board, the Student Senate, and the Rensselaer Union’s Union Annual Report Committee released the Union Annual Report Fiscal Year 2014. According to President of the Union Jonathan Stack ’13, “This document gives members of the RPI Community the opportunity to understand every aspect of the Union budget, and find out where every cent of the [Union] Activity Fee goes.” Read more...

This weekend, RPI students participated in on-campus events such as Exploring Engineering Day and Winter Carnival. They also witnessed the continuation of an amazing winning streak by the Engineers, currently the longest in the nation. These events are just two examples of how RPI students organize, plan, and run large community events on campus—the Winter Carnival was even founded by students. RPI has a great tradition of student involvement on campus, and the spring semester brings yet more student-run events to campus, including Grand Marshal Week, UPAC spring concerts, and Genericon. Read more...

The Chinese American Student Association’s yearly formal has been on my RPI bucket list for quite some time now. Celebrating the Chinese New Year (or the lunar new year, depending on who you ask), it is one of the larger CASA events. Often viewed from the upper balcony of the third floor of the Rensselaer Union, CASA formal, to me at least, has included only a brief glance at the festivities below. This year is my last year here at RPI and is the year of crossing items off of this bucket list; after five years at this Institute, I finally attended this year’s formal. I was finally included in all of the action and excitement I had missed years prior. Read more...