Yearly Archives: 2014

Prison problems provide powerful plot

Netflix has really stepped up their game with their original content. Personally, Orange is the New Black is hands down my favorite show of theirs, and possibly one of my favorite series of all time. Even though there have only been two seasons, I am completely hooked on OITNB! I finally caught on to the show during Winter Break last year, and couldn’t wait until the new season. The second season was released on June 6, which has lead to many sessions of binge watch-ing (although I am trying to make the season last until next year) and I have to say that this sea-son is even better than the first. Read more...

Comments Off on Prison problems provide powerful plot

Rensselaer alumni speak at Troy 100 Forum

Troy community development forum also features former RPI vice president Coblentz

On Monday, May 12, the Troy 100 Forum was held in the Heffner Alumni House. Keynote speakers included former Rensselaer Chief of Staff and Associate Vice President for Policy and Planning Laban Coblentz, James Peterson ’12, Colleen Costello ’12, and Columbia Development Companies’ Thomas Keaney. The forum focused on ideas for improving Troy. Read more...

Comments Off on Rensselaer alumni speak at Troy 100 Forum
Top Hat

GM encourages freshmen to get involved

Hello everyone! Summer is at its peak, and for many of us, our research, internships, and summer courses are at full swing. As the return to Rensselaer approaches, I’d like to extend a heartfelt welcome not only to our returning students, but to the incoming first years of the Class of 2018 as well! You are about to embark on a new chapter in your life, an experience that will allow you to grow as a student, a professional, and a leader; a journey that will connect you with lifelong friends along the way. Read more...

Comments Off on GM encourages freshmen to get involved

Jersey Boys performance hits the right note

For anyone who is a fan of the Broadway production Jersey Boys, the movie will not disappoint. The movie, like the Broadway production, follows the life of Frankie Valli from barber’s apprentice to the voice of the Four Seasons. Being a big fan of the Four Seasons myself, I will say that I was very impressed and thought the movie was phenomenal and did justice to the Four Seasons story. Read more...

Comments Off on Jersey Boys performance hits the right note

Incident blotter: Cleaner trips fire alarm, suspicious two-liter at ECAV

Information provided by Public Safety Investigator Terrance Burns

Tuesday, May 6

• Parking Read more...

Comments Off on Incident blotter: Cleaner trips fire alarm, suspicious two-liter at ECAV
Derby

PU pushes campus activities

Hi, RPI! Whether you are still on campus just hanging out, busy with summer classes, research, an internship, or a job, I hope that your first month has been enjoyable but productive.I hope that you have made time for yourself to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather. If you are looking for things to do, the Rensselaer Union is holding many exciting events this summer, including movie nights put on by UPAC, the cheesecake festival/beach party, a bowling party at Uncle Sam’s, and other fun activities! Feel free to stop by the Rensselaer Union Administration Office for more details on programs or with program ideas for the future. Read more...

Comments Off on PU pushes campus activities
Sustainability

Green revolving funds provide renewable money

Common proposal solidifies long-term budget goals for future sustainabilities projects

The Student Sustainability Task Force is a student-led club at RPI whose goal is to collaborate with other clubs, faculty, and administrators to increase sustainability efforts on campus. SSTF has worked on many projects in the past few years, from trying to get a campus greenhouse to compiling data on how sustainable RPI currently is today. Under new leadership, the club has grown significantly over the past semester, in both the number of members and the number of projects. SSTF allows new members to join in on currently established projects or gain support and aid in the formation of new projects. One of the newest projects to come to SSTF is called the Green Revolving Fund Project. Read more...

Comments Off on Green revolving funds provide renewable money
Directors’ Corner

A.D. promotes athletics

Welcome to Rensselaer! We are all thrilled to start the new year, and as the director of athletics, I want to highlight some of the excitement we hope you will participate in during the year. Read more...

Comments Off on A.D. promotes athletics

Chemical spill in Biotech prompts fire, hazmat response

A chemical spill, later found to be a skin irritant, caused the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies to evacuate on Friday, around 1:15 pm. Troy Fire Department responded to the scene with several engines and a hazmat unit, and 15th Street was blocked off by Troy Police for over an hour. Read more...

Comments Off on Chemical spill in Biotech prompts fire, hazmat response

This week’s front page

May 7, 2014

front

Comments Off on This week’s front page

Year in Review: Looking back

During the 2013–2014 school year, the RPI campus saw many happenings. A scandal over posters; clubs held many events, even beyond those detailed here. The Mueller Center and Rensselaer Union got upgrades to make them better for students. Read more...

Comments Off on Year in Review: Looking back

Staff Editorial: End of year preparations

The end of the semester is fast approaching, and with finals around the corner, students should make sure they have enough time to prepare to move out for the summer. The Poly would like to make sure everyone has transportation to go back home and their valuables secured. Many options are available to all students. Read more...

Comments Off on Staff Editorial: End of year preparations

Veronica Mars provides a solid ending

Film successfully funded through Kickstarter; follows Mars during amateur detecting

Crowdfunding has taken the world by storm. With the advent of services like Kickstarter, it has become the norm for nascent companies to pitch product concepts to the masses in order to convince them to donate their hard-earned money and fund production. Many products have seen successful crowdfunding campaigns: everything from video games to smartphone screen protectors have been released on the money of “backers.” Things became a bit more unprecedented when television writer/creator Rob Thomas and actress Kristen Bell took to Kickstarter. Thomas decided to try his hand at crowdfunding a film sequel to his critically acclaimed, cult hit TV show, Veronica Mars, which starred Bell in the title role. Unceremoniously canceled after its third season, fans of the show have been clamoring for closure to the series for some time now. After being frustrated by studio disinterest in funding such a project, Thomas decided to take it to the fans themselves. After shattering several Kickstarter records and achieving the necessary funding in less than ten hours, Warner Bros. finally decided to greenlight the film for distribution. So, having already made history, how does Veronica Mars, the film, stack up? Read more...

Comments Off on Veronica Mars provides a solid ending

Women’s lacrosse takes Liberty League title

On the weekend of May 2, the RPI women’s lacrosse team hosted the Liberty League Conference tournament, a two-day, four-team event. After coming from behind to defeat Vassar College in the semifinals on Saturday, RPI emerged victorious in the Liberty League Championship game against tri-city rival Union College, and earned an automatic bid in the NCAA Division III Tournament starting next weekend. Read more...

Comments Off on Women’s lacrosse takes Liberty League title

Discussing excuse policy

GM works with Student Life Committee

Over this past year, the Student Life Committee worked on revisions to the excuse policy. They recently learned that most of their revisions passed through. We interviewed Grand Marshal Kyle Keraga ’15, former Student Life Committee Chair, regarding his old committee’s work and the new excuse policy. Read more...

Comments Off on Discussing excuse policy
Editor’s Corner

The state of The Polytechnic

As a rule (well, sort of), the editor in chief writes editor’s corners a few times during their tenure. Traditionally, they’re once right at the beginning of their term, once at the end, and a few times in the middle. The middle ones are run around big events—like Homecoming & Reunion or the Accepted Students Celebration—or when students are about to pack up and leave for the summer or are just arriving on campus in the fall. Read more...

Comments Off on The state of The Polytechnic

Game of Thrones rewards audience of all types

Television program deviates from books, for better and worse; not all HBO’s fault

Although we’re only halfway through season four of this great show, we are at the end of our school season, so I would be remiss not to mention the hit sensation on all televisions, Game of Thrones. Out of respect to those who want to watch, I’ll be sure not to include spoilers, but honestly, if you haven’t watched the show yet, you are missing something special. There is good reason that the show floods social media every week, and has led to half my friends calling me “Prince Joffrey,” because it’s a great show that everyone can watch. Why is this? Why does my brother, mother, and father all love this show when we can’t even agree where to go out and eat? What is it we love? Read more...

Comments Off on Game of Thrones rewards audience of all types

Multiple track and field competitors medal at state meet

Last Friday, May 2, both the RPI men’s and women’s varsity track and field teams, led by Head Coach Colin Tory, traveled to St. John Fisher College to compete in the NYSCTC Championships. The meet began on Friday night, and continued on Saturday morning. The decathlon/heptathlon took place on the preceding Sunday and Monday, April 27–28, at RIT. The meet consisted of 13 teams, all of which are Division III schools in New York. Read more...

Comments Off on Multiple track and field competitors medal at state meet

Lithium batteries improve

Innovative materials remedy dendrite bug

Recently researched at Rensselaer, a new type of a battery is in the works, specifically, an all-carbon lithium battery. Current batteries in use, like the ones in cellphones, tablets, and laptops, are lithium-ion batteries. Lithium is a light metal, which is necessary in designing light, portable devices. Read more...

Comments Off on Lithium batteries improve
Editorial Notebook

One student’s parting words

As the 2013–2014 academic year swiftly comes to a close, my time at RPI goes with it. My time as an undergraduate here has been far quick, but I like to think that I’ve learned a lot and grown tremendously as a person. While 400 words certainly is not enough to convey everything that I’ve picked up over the past five years, it will be good enough to talk about some of the things I’ve picked up, as well as my sentiment towards RPI. Read more...

Comments Off on One student’s parting words