Since we are now entering the third week of school, I hope everything has settled down and students are adjusting to their coursework. As we get farther in the school year, one important thing to remember is to prepare yourself for the first round of tests. The first test I ever took at RPI, I failed spectacularly. I didn’t study as hard as I should have because of misplaced confidence from high school academic achievements and reservations about seeking help from others. I want to make sure no one makes the same mistake, so please talk to your professors or teaching assistants, study with friends if you can, or visit the Advising & Learning Assistance Center, located in Academy Hall, to help with your studies. As a first year student, you don’t want to dig yourself a hole in the beginning because of a bad test or semester. Start out strong, and it will make your academic journey at RPI much smoother. Read more...

Many changes have been made both over the summer and in the past month to Father’s Marketplace on the bottom floor of the Rensselaer Union. The changes include extensive cosmetic, equipment, and stock item upgrades, as well as some changes to the physical layout of several parts of the store. Read more...

The Rensselaer Union Executive Board is now complete! Last weekend I held ten interviews for the two spots left on the E-Board. It was a very difficult decision to find only two candidates out of such a talented pool. However, I am pleased to announce that Karl Meir ’17 and Kai Shi ’17 will be serving on the Executive Board as the Class of 2017 Representative and Member at Large, respectively. I am excited to have them join the E-Board as they are both very passionate and interested in serving the student body. Read more...

On Wednesday, August 28, the Office of Residence Life held the second annual Off-Campus Housing Fair. From 12–3 pm, several hundred students interacted with representatives of 41 various on-campus and off-campus organizations. Read more...

To the Editor:

My son is now a senior at RPI and on August 26, we dropped him off and were quite disgusted with the living arrangements at RAHPs. Every year, tuition, living expenses, and meal prices continue to rise but the standard of living at RPI continues to fall. His room, although appearing that “new” furniture was present, had one electrical socket that was so bad that, in my opinion, it constituted a fire hazard. The plug for his extension cord did not remain securely in the socket, hanging out a full one centimeter due to gravity. He has informed FIXX—and they are going to “take care of it”—but I feel this is something that RPI should be pro-active when the end-of-year walkthrough is done, things like this should be noted and fixed ready for the next year. Read more...

On Monday, September 9, Medical Director of the Student Health Center Leslie Lawrence attended the Student Senate’s weekly general body meeting to discuss health concerns among students. Chief among these was the topic of medical excuses for classes. Read more...

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All photos: Joseph Shen/The Polytechnic Read more...

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as we all know, is a very prestigious school; in fact, it has a spot on just about every top 10, top 20, or top 50 list found in major publications. Moreover, RPI is a technological institute, and, therefore, a research university that is primarily focused on science and technology. That being said, we feel that Rensselaer is lacking, obviously not in science, but in technology. One specific technology, mind you: internet access. Read more...

This summer, I had the privilege of spending three months in the Seattle/Redmond area working for Microsoft. While it’s not the first time I’ve spent the summer away from home—I’ve spent a couple summers here at RPI doing research—it’s the first time I’ve been across the country for such an extended period of time. Despite the fact that Seattle and its surrounding suburbs are part of the United States, the time I spent there was radically different than my time on the East Coast. Here are just some thoughts of an east coast panda spending time in the West. Read more...

Tuesday, August 27

• Department of Public Safety Read more...

Hello, RPI, I hope all of you had a great first week of class. This week I wanted to talk primarily about the growing line that is forming outside of the Rensselaer Union. That is the 2013 Hockey Line, one of my favorite traditions on campus. As many of you know, college hockey games are must-watch events, and it has been this way for a very long time. The tradition originated with the design of the Houston Field House. Originally, there were large support columns throughout the building that held up its roof. Groups of students would camp outside the Union for months to get tickets in order to ensure unobstructed seats. In the 70s and 80s the line formed in late July before the fall classes even began. The Psi Upsilon fraternity even bested the previous record of 33 days in line with 178 consecutive days in line when they camped out the day after the Engineer’s 1985 national championship. Read more...

Hello, everyone, and happy Wednesday! I hope that everyone enjoyed his or her long weekend, and that the first week of classes hasn’t scared too many people away just yet! Thank you to everyone who came to our activities fair last Thursday night in the Armory. As usual, the activities fair was crowded with students from every class year. Even more than usual our organizations saw a steady stream of interest in their events and activities, which is exciting for all of us. Now that you have seen what is available, get involved! While you may have put your name on more than a few club e-mail lists, it’s still a great idea to attend the first few meetings of those clubs that caught your eye to determine which ones interest you the most. Most of my memories from college are about the activities in which I participated outside of the classroom, and it’s never too late to find your passion. Read more...