Every year, The Polytechnic produces a special Grand Marshal Week issue that provides information about the week’s festivities and gives the opportunity for candidates for student government offices to present themselves to the student body. Inclusion in this special issue is completely voluntary, although we feel that it is a valuable and efficient way to reach a large number of voters, and we encourage all candidates to take advantage of it. The special issue will be published and distributed around campus on Monday, April 13, 2015. Read more...

A large crowd was in attendance this past Thursday afternoon to hear Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s President Shirley Ann Jackson speak as part of the annual President’s Spring Town Hall Meeting, held in the Experimental Media Performing and Arts Center Theater. Provost Prabhat Hajela introduced Jackson to the stage, where she began the meeting discussing how she recently attended the 2015 World Economic Forum in Switzerland with nearly 1,500 other people as a way to learn more about public-private cooperation. She went on to introduce her cabinet, then discussed several numerical figures regarding the upcoming 2015–2016 academic year, as well as the 2016 fiscal year. Read more...

Last week, our staff editorial urged the Rensselaer community to attend President Shirley Ann Jackson’s annual Spring Town Hall Meeting, which was held last Thursday. For the past few years, the meeting has garnered robust attendance from cabinet-level administration and Environmental and Site Services employees, but we think the meeting has fallen short of what should be its intended target demographic: students. Read more...

Confession: I’m not a convention person. It’s not that I have anything against them, I’ve just never been particularly interested in them. It doesn’t help that I’ve hardly ever watched much anime and know next to nothing about gaming and most of what is discussed at conventions in general. Confession number two: I didn’t think I’d enjoy it much. Admission: I was wrong. Read more...

After defeating Clarkson University in three games in the opening round of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament, Rensselaer set its sights on the St. Lawrence University Saints. Just two weeks prior, RPI defeated St. Lawrence 4-3 behind the great goaltending of senior Scott Diebold. This time was different, though. The games were on St. Lawrence’s home ice and both teams needed to win in order to keep their hopes alive for an NCAA tournament berth. Read more...

The 45th Student Senate met last week to discuss the last of the Grand Marshal Week amendments, as well as a presentation of the new petitions website and the formal vote on electronic voting for GM Week. Read more...

When I climbed off the bus Saturday the 14th in Killington, Vermont, it was drizzling and warm. Most of the mountain was hidden in a cloud. By the time I got off my first lift ride of the day my jacket and snow pants were damp. In my first turns, I found that it wasn’t snow but more of a slushie I was skiing on. Half way down the mountain I had to stop because my goggles fogged up, which continued to happen for the rest of the day. Read more...

Like a hidden gem, Carmen’s appears unassumingly on First Street in downtown Troy. I wouldn’t even have heard about this place if it weren’t for a mention from a couple of friends. On the corner of First and Adams Streets, this Cuban-Spanish café boasts a rich selection of high quality tapas and entrées, made from locally grown ingredients. Read more...

Last Wednesday, Rensselaer men’s lacrosse dominated the Connecticut College Camels at East Campus Stadium. Read more...

The Swiss solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 took off from Oman and headed for India last week. The mission of its two-man crew—pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borcheberg—is to complete the first round-the-world flight with a fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power. The first iteration of Solar Impulse, which broke records for height and distanced traveled by a solar-powered plane, was also a project led and privately funded by Piccard and Borcheberg; SI was a single-seat plane that had the ability to stay aloft for up to 36 hours at a time. Having completed flight missions in Europe and the US, Piccard and Borcheberg later built upon the experience of their first prototype in the design and construction of SI2, which took 12 years. Read more...

There are more than seven billion people in this world. We have different cultures, traditions, and values. Yet, sickness is something we all have in common. With a struggling economic situation in all parts of the world, prevention seems to be better than cure in terms of the medical aspect. Fitness, eating right, and a healthy lifestyle are just a few ways to help ourselves. Read more...

To those of you who were burning the midnight oil in the Rensselaer Union on Saturday, March 14, 2015, I’m sorry. I apologize to you because you missed one of the most uplifting events all year. I’m sorry that you didn’t come and enjoy yourself with the many Genericon-goers as they danced the night away in the McNeil room. And most of all, I’m sorry about the bumping, bass-boosted, and, most importantly, loud music that enticed many to get on the dance floor. But it was for the best, because the Genericon Dance at this year’s annual RPI-hosted convention was definitely the best dance put on by RPI yet this school year. Read more...

Good afternoon, RPI.

This is my last Top Hat for the next two weeks, for as we should all be aware, Spring Break is almost here! This time, the weather seems to know it: at last the snow and the cold have given way to a great thaw and more reasonable temperatures. Over Spring Break, we may see sunny skies and green weather at last. Read more...

On February 27, Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright made a triumphant return in the third season of House of Cards as Francis and Claire Underwood. The season is 13 episodes long, running an average of 45 minutes per episode, meaning it takes almost 10 hours to complete the season. Not that I or anyone has watched the entire third season in one sitting, but it is possible. Warning: spoilers ahead. Read more...

Hey RPI! Last weekend, on 3/14/15, was Pi Day, a very eventful day for Rensselaer. Pi Day is not only the day of one of the biggest donation campaigns for Rensselaer Alumni, where Alumni are given the chance to “complete the circle” and give back to their Alma Mater, it was also the day when the final round of applicants to Rensselaer received notification of their acceptance! I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my little sister, Shannon Amarello, on her acceptance to RPI as well as all of the other potential Engineers who have received this opportunity to join our amazing Rensselaer community. If you know anyone who was accepted over the weekend, be sure to congratulate them on their accomplishment and welcome them to the Rensselaer family. Read more...

Dear Editorial Board of The Rensselaer Polytechnic:

I would like to correct an inaccuracy included in your article, “Uncovering Rensselaer’s Finances” in the March 4, 2015 edition of The Rensselaer Polytechnic, and also provide a particular context to the Institute’s finances over the past fifteen years. Read more...

Health code violations were identified at eight of the nine dining locations inspected at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2014. Two of RPI’s dining facilities, Commons Dining Hall and Burdett Avenue Residence Hall’s dining hall, were identified as having one critical health code violation each. Read more...

This Thursday, March 12, from 1–2 pm, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will hold the spring edition of their Town Hall Meetings, hosted by President Shirley Ann Jackson. The objective of these meetings is to allow members of the RPI community to learn firsthand about recent and upcoming goings-on at the Institute. Specifically, the spring town meetings are often used as the venue to announce the upcoming academic year’s tuition increases and financial policies. In addition, Jackson will congratulate those that have won awards and those that will be honored during the year’s graduation ceremony. She also addresses new partnerships with other research and scientific centers, as well as the new numbers for the incoming class. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity for attendees to ask Jackson questions directly. Read more...

This Friday, the Rensselaer Union hosted Union After Dark. The list of attractions seemed full, varied, and fun. A spaghetti tower competition, ice-cream eating contest, henna tattoos, and life-sized board games were just some of the items on the bill. There was also a full evening of performances, including three a cappella groups and several bands, and, of course, that great crowd favorite: free food. It promised to be a great evening. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver on that promise. Read more...