We had the chance to interview the Dean of the First Year Experience Janelle Fayette. She talked to us about what she wants students to get out of their freshman experience and how it helps them make the transition to independence. Read more...

Hey RPI!

I hope that everyone has been enjoying their first week back from summer break. The next few weeks may bring more classes and your first homework assignments, but it also brings a lot of exciting things to the Rensselaer Union when you need a break from your studies. Read more...

The Live Action Role-Play Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond trip focused around two murder mysteries. In these games, participants were given a name tag with a character’s name and a folder containing their in-game identity. The event was mostly full with about thirty players. Read more...

On August 20, the Rensselaer Hybrid Racing Team held their NRB event. Any RPI student is welcome to join the club; whether a business or mechanical engineering major, there are plenty of opportunities to take part in designing, fabricating, and maybe even racing a compact race car. Funded mainly by the School of Engineering, the team has access to a lot of campus resources and tools. In addition, companies sponsor the team by donating various automotive components. Read more...

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work on a newspaper, but have never had the chance to do so? Read more...

The Engineering department was abundant with flashing LEDs during the Build Your Own Arcade Game Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond event held by the Embedded Hardware Club. The students were divided into groups, each tasked with creating an arcade game using simple electronic parts, a microprocessor, and a breadboard. Many of the groups had very little experience with programming and circuitry. Everyone was surprised with how much they had learned in such a short time. Students who had never programmed before had entire programs built to run their game in mere hours. Read more...

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...

On Thursday, June 19, the Rensselaer Division of the Chief Information Officer released details on the Mobile Computing Program for the 2014–2015 academic year. The annual program includes a laptop, various accessories, software, warranties, and technical support. Read more...

Hello to the entire Rensselaer community! A very special greeting and welcome to all incoming first-year students, whether RPI is your very first college or your fifth. Read more...

Hot off the heels of great acclaim for The Lego Movie and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller deliver the sequel to their equally well-received 21 Jump Street. Before even getting to the movie, I can say that you do not have to watch the first film to enjoy this one. Lord and Miller worked hard to separate this film from its predecessor. This film is completely different, and people I saw the movie with who hadn’t seen the first didn’t feel like they were missing any information in order to enjoy the film. With that said, I would recommend watching the first just because it would be difficult to enjoy as much as this film, just because it is such a better movie. Read more...

The Poly staff welcomes the Class of 2018 to Rensselaer! This will be your home for the next few years, and we can’t wait to meet you. Hearing “2018” makes us feel so old, though—we came to RPI in 2013, 2012, 2011, or even before! Read more...

I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to rob a bank. Once or twice, I’ve daydreamed about cracking bank safes, my criminal crew at my six, bags full of precious gold bars shining on my face. I feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as we sprint to the escape van. The dream culminates in that crisp comfort that only swimming in Benjamins offers. That doesn’t make me psychotic or clinically insane, does it? Either way, after this year’s Steam Summer Sale, I picked up Payday 2, a game where I can rob banks with friends. Read more...

As the summer progresses here at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, not much has changed. However, the School of Engineering has named a new dean, Shekhar Garde. Read more...

I do not support the current feminist movement. Now, before getting your panties in twist and calling for my head, let me explain. I support equality and that’s what feminism used to be about: social, economic, and political equality. However, feminism has veered off in an entirely different direction, and I cannot support it. Read more...