Update (5:41 pm, February 26, 2014): The original, online posting of this article was missing a section of the report. The issue has been fixed. Read more...

FIXX is responsible for repair and maintenance needs on campus. If there is a leaky faucet or faulty heater, FIXX is responsible for addressing and fixing it. Read more...

Nathan’s View

Today’s films are dramatically different than the ones of the past. The days of practical effects seemed to have been foregone for those created through computers (CGI) and films attempt to appeal to the largest possible audience. While this style of filmmaking has led to a completely new era of films along with bringing the industry to new heights, financially, I found that revisiting the film style of old was a welcome change. Need for Speed brings this change in a dramatic way, leading it to be one of the most entertaining action films I have seen recently. Read more...

Last weekend, both the RPI men’s and women’s basketball teams played a home game against Rochester Institute of Technology and a road game at nearby Union College. In particular, Friday’s matchups against RIT served as the final home games for the seniors that had put in four years of hard work for RPI basketball. For the men’s squad, seniors Reggie Colas, Sean Dempsey, Pat Harrington, and Nick Keefe were all recognized for their dedication to the team. For the women’s team, seniors Meg Denison, Kelly Piotrowski, and Zysnia Osepa were likewise honored. Read more...

There’s an old saying, “Live life in the moment.” I’m finding that as a first year here at RPI, the saying is quite true. Many people seem to mistake this meaning to say that we should live recklessly, as if every day was our last. I have come to the conclusion that this isn’t true. But let me step back and give some context for this—and talk about perspective. Read more...

Selfies are a controversial new phenomenon with the advent of affordable and high quality camera phones. Some think of selfies as the new self portrait, being able to have full creative control on how they present themselves to the world. But others see it differently, as a vain and childish way to present your identity. Because there are so many strong feelings, it’s hard to objectively analyze selfies. Even with the aid of computers, it is very difficult to parse these images effectively. That’s what Lev Manovich wants to fix. Read more...

The Engineers played their two final home games of the season this past weekend as they took on St. Lawrence and Clarkson. RPI fell to St. Lawrence on Friday 4-0. Friday was also Military Appreciation Night at the Houston Field House, which saw the Engineers don camoflauge uniforms. Read more...

In 2011, Brian Nock ’13 founded weR: The Spirit of Rensselaer Society. According to Alumni Relations Program Administrator Nicholas Fortune ’13, weR strives “to foster school spirit as an inherent and exciting part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by promoting student involvement, support, and unity through unique programming that embraces the existing culture.” weR includes several different programs, including weR Gold, which funds projects using alumni donations. Read more...

At the end of my first semester as a freshman at RPI, having finished the football season as an outside linebacker, I started looking for something new, something to which I could dedicate a good chunk of my time. I began asking around to see what clubs and organizations my friends participated in, as well as skimming the array of emails I was receiving from the clubs that I had signed up for—a little thoughtlessly—at the club fair. I was led to The Polytechnic by one of my friends who had emphasized the vast diversity of The Poly and the many different parts that allow for the machine that is The Poly to run successfully. At the time, I did not know much about The Poly, most likely due to being a freshman, and it seemed like something that wouldn’t be of interest to me; after all, I hadn’t been much of a writer in high school (one of the reasons I initially chose RPI). After some persuasion on my friend’s part, I decided to attend a meeting. To my astonishment, everything she had said was completely factual. Read more...

Last Friday, EMPAC had a special screening of the short films of Arthur Lipsett and George Lucas. Though many may not know Arthur Lipsett, he is an incredibly influential filmmaker whose work has affected Lucas and Stanley Kubrick. Read more...

Scott Diebold, a junior goalie for men’s ice hockey, rallied an incredible 30 saves during the last home game of the season against rival Clarkson University. Diebold’s amazing goalkeeping skills led two of his glove saves to be selected as number one on NCAA Men’s Hockey Top Five Plays of the Week. His current overall save percentage is .914, with a total of 786 saves. Read more...

The Senate formed an ad-hoc committee last semester to review the current Union Constitution and recommend any changes. It was proposed at the meeting that the two Independent Council senators who serve on Senate be removed. This alteration was recommended as the Independent Council itself is dissolving. Currently, the RPI Student Senate can have a maximum of 26 senators. There are four senators representing each class year, six graduate senators, two Independent Council senators, and two Greek senators representing Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council. Read more...

Last Friday, the Chinese American Students Association held their annual formal at the Heffner Alumni House. This is the third venue they’ve had in the past three years, albeit last year’s blizzard forced them to host the event in the McNeil Room a week later. The weather wasn’t on their side, but the weather cooperated this time. The location was difficult for many freshmen to locate, but the venue was definitely nice. CASA obviously put in a lot of effort this year with Chinese takeout centerpieces complete with carnations in a vase as well as balloons, a candle, and two origami horses. CASA hosts their annual formal to celebrate the New Year according to the lunar calendar. I asked a CASA member why they host the event so late. They gave a valid reason of needing more time to organize the event once students came back from Winter Break. Read more...

Tuesday, February 18

• ’87 Gymnasium Read more...

Hello, RPI! Sadly, this past weekend marked the end of the regular season home games for our hockey team. However, it was great to see so many students come out for the Whiteout! and Military Appreciation Night. The final game of the home season against Clarkson was also very well attended as the seniors played in their last home game and heatedly fought one of our biggest rivals. Read more...

If you think you don’t have the power to change the world, think again. RPI’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders, along with student chapters all over the country, are working on sustainable engineering projects to help communities in the developing world meet their basic human needs. The RPI chapter is hosting a free film festival on Sunday, March 2, in DCC 308 from 4–6 pm where you can come to learn and be inspired by the engineering projects that students are working on. The film festival will feature 10 films that are between three and nine minutes long. They each highlight the projects students are working on. The RPI chapter’s video was selected for the film festival and will be featured alongside the videos from schools such as the University of Colorado and University of Kansas! RPI’s video was selected because of how well it showcased their project. While the RPI chapter was on their second trip to Panama, they had the idea to document their project via video. The short film is a series of clips of their journey to the island community of Isla Popa and the work that they did while there. The videos from the other student chapters are similar in nature. Some examples of projects that are in the film series are a drinking water system in Ecuador, climate change control in Peru, and a sustainable school building in Rwanda. Read more...

On Monday, the Student Senate hosted a Greek representation forum to get feedback from the community about status of Greek senators. The event had very strong participation by the Greek community. On less than a week’s notice around 200 people attended and the entire two hours allocated for the event was filled with discussion. It was made clear by the Senate that the motivation for discussion was not a reflection of the quality of service done by the Independent Council senators or Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council senators. In fact, these senators were recognized for both their activity and involvement in the Senate. Concerns were brought up that, due to the dissolution of the IC, there would no longer be senators representing them. This raised the questions, given that the Independent Council no longer has senators, should Greek senator positions exist? and would having Greek senators without Independent Council senators bring unbalance to the Senate? It is not stated anywhere in the Union Constitution or the Senate bylaws that it is part of the role of the Greek senators to balance the IC senators. This is making a connection between the two organizations that simply does not exist. Read more...