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On Saturday, May 2, RPI senior place kicker Andrew Franks signed a free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. The seven-round NFL Draft started April 30 and extended into the afternoon of May 2; however, during that time, none of the 32 teams selected a kicker. Read more...

On Thursday, April 30, UPAC Concerts and the Rensselaer Union 125th Anniversary hosted their MSMR concert at East Campus Athletic Village, in the East Campus Athletic Village Arena, featuring MSMR and special guests Bell’s Roar and Titanics. The doors opened at 7 pm and the concert started at 8 pm. Tickets were sold at the door and also had been sold in the Rensselaer Union the previous three weeks by UPAC Concerts. Read more...

The Engineers trailed after five innings in their first game of two against the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers last Saturday. A solo home run in the sixth inning by RPI senior starting pitcher Jared Jensen tied the game at two. Read more...

The Student Senate began Tuesday’s meeting with four petitions. The first was “Don’t Shut Down RPI’s Nuclear Reactor,” presented by graduate Nicholas Thompson. The Walthousen Reactor Critical Facility is a zero-power nuclear reactor used for education, training, and research by RPI nuclear engineering students. The City of Schenectady has pushed for its shutdown; however, many faculty members want it to remain in service. Thompson feels that this is a time-sensitive issue, as it is possible that the reactor could be shut down as early as this summer. Graduate Senator Mike Caiola asked if it would be possible to send a formal letter to the administration, should it pass, who have the final say on the decision. The Senate supported the petition in a 16-0-1 vote. Read more...

In an age where music artists are burdened with the pressures of making songs entirely for the radio and mainstream success, there are still some producers and musicians who can find a way to shine with their unique talents and abilities. Kill Paris, one of these gifted musicians, solidifies his own identity in the funk electronic genre with his newest release Galaxies Between Us, which came out on April 14. With solid bass lines and outstanding guitar riffs, the album gives off a feel good vibe that is easy and satisfying to groove to. Read more...

RPI Relief began the RPI Relief: NEPAL campaign on April 28 which will continue through Wednesday, May 13. The RPI Relief: NEPAL campaign is raising money to help the victims of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25, 2015. The earthquake affected people in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal. Aftershocks reaching magnitudes of up to 6.7 caused further damage. According to official reports, the death toll has surpassed 7,500 and over 17,000 people have been injured. Read more...

Students of RPI, it’s time to talk. There has been a serious issue plaguing the students of this great school for several months now. Many of you are probably aware of this atrocity, but it’s time we get everyone on the same page. This unfortunate occurrence which I am referring to is the flooding of the RPI Fade page of seemingly nothing but memes. Read more...

Joseph’s View

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the next film in the new wave of of Marvel Entertainment films released in the last few years, and is, once again, another adaptation of their comic book stories into action on the silver screen. It is sometimes funny and sometimes serious, but it manages to balance the two well to create an atmosphere that is both welcoming for newcomers while still satisfying the die-hard “stay-up-all-night-on-the-comment-threads” fans. Read more...

On April 27, the RPI chapter of the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta, also known as FIJI, began their first ever Islander Week. Based around the FIJI nickname, many FIJI chapters hold tropical-themed islander events for charity or social reason. This year, the RPI chapter raised $1,425 for the nine families that were displaced by the fire on Fourth and Washington Streets in Troy, N.Y. on April 10. Read more...

Classes are reaching their final stretch, and students are using every tool in their arsenal to tackle their final projects, presentations, and examinations. I’d like to take this chance to talk about some of my favorite resources, the first of which is the Advising & Learning Assistance Center, or ALAC for short. Read more...

An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Nepal, and has resulted in a death toll of 7,500 and caused serious damage to the nation’s infrastructure, according to Nepal’s Prime Minister. The quake itself occurred on April 25, and is the most powerful earthquake in Nepal since 1934. Casualties in neighboring countries (i.e., India, China, and Bangladesh) have also been reported. Additionally, at least 17 climbers have been killed in the earthquake’s wake on Mount Everest; the effect of the earthquake on the height of Mount Everest is currently being analyzed by expert geologists. According to The Himalayan Times, there were as many as 20,000 foreign nationals in Nepal at the time of the earthquake. As such, there are numerous multinational disaster relief efforts being undertaken currently. The extensive damage to Nepal’s commercial and historical sites, however, has slowed relief efforts and produced long-lasting effects on the nation’s historical heritage. Read more...

What’s up RPI? I hope you have been enjoying the weather lately. It took a few long nights, but I think I finally have the weather machine in working order again. First order of business is, well, business. In this week’s Executive Board meeting, we heard proposals from the Jazz Ensemble for their summer concerts program, UPAC for some budgetary adjustments, and the RPI Bowling Club seeking Rensselaer Union recognition. Unfortunately, due to scheduling, I don’t have the results of these presentations as my Derby is due before the meeting. I’ll be working to fix this for next semester by moving some things around. However, if you check out the RPI Subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/RPI/), you’ll be able to see an E-Board “Week in Review” post of what’s been going on after this week’s meeting. I’ve had a number of clubs and organizations reach out to me as the semester winds down seeking to come before the board. Time is short, so I encourage any group interested in presenting to speak with their outgoing representative or point of contact to see what the best steps to take are as the new board is selected. I promise we will do our absolute best to ensure all groups are given every chance possible to be heard. Read more...

Ah, May; the weather is forecasted to have temperatures in the 80s and plentiful sunshine for the next five days. Lawns everywhere are dotted with people reading a book, tossing a frisbee, or just enjoying the weather. Daylight hours stretch from 5:30 am to 8:30 pm, granting more time to enjoy being outside. As for what to do with this time, here are The Poly’s recommendations. Read more...

Next week marks the end of classes for the semester, and with it, the last issue of The Poly for the 2014–2015 academic year. Throughout this past year, we’ve worked to improve our offerings, both online and offline, and we’re planning on continuing this trend into the next semester and beyond. Read more...