Hey RPI!
Many wonderful things happened over the weekend. First, my congratulations go out to the RPI players for their amazing performance of Dracula by Steven Dietz, an adaptation of the classic novel by Bram Stoker. I could not make opening night, but I was able to attend on Sunday and I was blown away! I have read Dracula and I can say that Steven Dietz found an incredible new way to tell the story and the cast, set, and costumes were very impressive. I highly recommend that, if you have not had the chance to see it yet, you make some time this weekend to do so. The last two showings are Friday November 21 and Saturday November 22 at 8 pm each night. Come see the artsy and creative side of these engineers and scientists; I promise they won’t disappoint.
Second, in the world of athletics, our cross country teams both competed in the NCAA Atlantic Regional on Saturday. The men placed fourth and the women took eighth. Two individuals from the men’s team, Jacob Andrews ’15, and Benjamin Fazio ’17 have also qualified for the NCAA Championship meet and they will represent the Engineers this weekend in Ohio. I wish them the best of luck! Third, our football team won a nail-biting 31-28 victory over Union this weekend to keep the Dutchman Shoes Trophy here in Troy for another year. It was truly an exciting game to watch, and the “SHOOOEESSS” cheer that swept through the crowd after the game was absolutely phenomenal.
Looking to this weekend, there will be the second Tidbits presentation by TALKS featuring James Spencer, the Executive Director of the Rensselaer Tech Park, with donuts and coffee from Nibble. It will be held in Mothers in the Rensselaer Union, Friday morning from 9 am–10 am.
Last week, the Executive Board heard from two clubs. Humans vs. Zombies has been approved as a funded club, hopefully leading to even more HvZ games here on campus and a growth of their already impressive 145 members. If you would like to join in on the next HvZ game, reach out to their president at brumea@rpi.edu. We also heard from Statler & Waldorf, who proposed and were granted the funds to print a new issue this year. Be on the lookout next semester for this wonderfully hilarious magazine created by your fellow students to show off the culture and fun of Rensselaer.
The Executive Board also engaged in a final conversation about extra food funding for clubs. The final decision is that this extra food money should be available to clubs who volunteer to serve the Rensselaer student body in some way, shape, or form, not just the club members themselves. However, funds will only be granted if the student is volunteering longer than five hours, and they are not already receiving pay for their services. Then, $3 per member will be available to purchase food. This number was calculated based on the price of pizza, which is the food of choice for most organizations. If you have any questions on this new policy please feel free to email me at pu@rpi.edu or stop by my office house every Wednesday 8:30–11:30 am (this week I will be out 9–10 am due to a meeting.