During the Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond week, Sheer Idiocy ran a day trip on Wednesday, August 20 in preparation for the participants’ show later that night. This year, Sheer Idiocy had a much smaller group than in previous years, but that did not affect expectations in any way. When asked what he expected of the group, David
Silverman ’14 said that he expected them to be funny. To begin the event, the freshmen did ice breakers and other activities in order to encourage them to open up.
Silverman said, “This works because the older members do things that are silly, stupid, and comical, which makes the NRB participants feel like equals from the start.” Read more...

Faced with a set of concrete stairs leading deep into the basement of a residence hall, what would you expect to find? Piping? Extra storage? Something creepy? That is not what you will find in the basement of Davison Hall. The only clue to the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society’s existence is a railroad crossing sign, seemingly out of place, on the side of the building. Through the door at the bottom of the steps is an entire miniature world. In front of you sits a model of 1950s Troy. Wooden platforms support buildings, factories, trains, people, and countryside accurate to the time period. A quick glance and you might think that it was the real thing sitting in front of you. Read more...