Hannah Merrow

Director of Communications, RPI Panhellenic Council Read more...

The gum-tasting review brought to you this week covers four different products selected from the local offering at Father’s Marketplace. They are miscellaneous flavors picked for their variety, entertainment value, and, in part, the reviewer’s self-indulgence. Read more...

On the morning of March 22, 2016, the Zaventem Airport in Brussels, Belgium made international news following two suicide bombings that killed 35 and injured hundreds more. An additional bombing took place in the Maalbeek metro station, that ultimately killed seven more people in addition to the assailant of the crimes. It has been reported that 12 of the victims of the crimes were foreign visitors in Belgium, including nationals of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, and China. In light of the attacks, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a militant Islamic group based in the Middle East, has taken responsibility for the attacks. As the deadliest terror attack on Belgian soil, the country issued a three day period of national mourning in response to the events. Read more...

Students may well be aware by now that we had submitted an application to protest in front of the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center on Wednesday at 2 pm. They may also be aware that the application was denied, and a followup application was similarly denied. We believe that this is an injustice, committed in direct violation of the Rensselaer Student Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities which states that “The denial of access to facilities or reduction of funds shall not be used by the Institute or the Rensselaer Union as a means of censorship or suppression of any lawful activity.” Read more...

This last weekend, many holidays were celebrated. Yes, there was Easter, but celebrated right alongside it was a Hindu holiday–Holi. Typically celebrated on the last full moon of the lunar month of Phalguna, Holi fell on Thursday, March 24, this year and was celebrated by the RPI community on Saturday, March 26. Read more...

In the past, RPI TV has covered controversial situations like the present times. We have been allowed unprecedented access to campus events, and we use this access to keep students informed. Read more...

How many times as students were we told to “change the world?” How often were we advised to be passionate, always question, continually grow, and lead change? It wasn’t fluid mechanics or chemical separations that stuck with me when I left RPI, but these lessons taught outside of the classroom by our Institute leaders. As students and alumni, we have the potential to impact millions of lives through our everyday ideas in fields like biotechnology or computer science; however, it seems we are powerless when it comes to having a voice at the very place that taught us how to do all that. Read more...

To the Editor,

The news of the past several weeks out of RPI feels like a stab in the heart. I have read news from the Institute over the years—dissolving the Faculty Senate, poor treatment of faculty and staff, precipitous changes to residence life policies, and more—with increasing dismay. None, however, have hit me as closely as the recent moves against the Rensselaer Union. Read more...

Dear Editors, Read more...

Fear.

We are all feeling it in one way or another right now. Whether it’s fear that we won’t get our showing of support today, fear of losing professional prospects, or fear of expulsion, we all are feeling at least a hint of fear. Read more...

What does it mean to be a university? A university is a place of learning, of research, of people in a field educating future generations to succeed them and lead the human race into the future. Does anyone really think that The Honorable has the best interests of the students of this institute at heart? Does anyone think that she has the best interests of the faculty of this institution at heart, given that she’s made the faculty senate impotent? Given she doesn’t, how can we claim she has the best interests of this institution at heart? Read more...

I am writing as an alumnus of the Class of ’70 and a former Rensselaer Union staff person. Read more...

During my time as an RPI student from 2005–2009, I was privileged to have numerous opportunities to learn, grow, and flourish not only in the academic halls of Rensselaer, but in the Student Government Suite as Grand Marshal, on stage of Mother’s with my fellow Idiots, on the volleyball court alongside student athletes, and as a protest leader on the steps of Sage Dining Hall during Uprise at Five. These diverse leadership experiences left an indelible imprint on my sense of self and brought me closer to the RPI community by building empathy, compassion, and camaraderie. The unshakable bond created through shared experiences means, seven years after graduation, I still call my RPI peers amongst my closest friends, friends who I know will support and guide me through the rest of my life. Every student at RPI deserves the opportunity to take part in rich leadership activities, all grounded in and supported by an independent Student Union. Read more...

To my fellow Rensselaer students,

If given a single word to describe RPI students, in the past there was only one word: apathy. This week, that stereotype has been completely and utterly demolished by the combined efforts of the Rensselaer student body. Read more...

The administration’s relationship with the students is absurd. We, the students, have been asking to be included in the changes that affect us. First with Summer Arch, then the athletics budgeting changes, and now the Executive Director for Student Activities job posting. It is difficult, if not impossible, to welcome significant changes to Student Life when students are excluded until the process is on its way to completion. We go to a school with students who are passionate and proud of their Union. It makes us unique, and we are proud of being the only completely student-run Union in the United States. For an institute that touts the caliber and leadership abilities of its students, one would hope that we would be included in changes that so greatly affect us. Read more...

At the beginning of the Student Senate meeting on March 9, Victoria Tong ’16 told the Senate that the Rules & Elections Committee would not be presenting the Grand Marshal Week 2016 Handbook and that they were looking into electronic voting. Read more...

Hello RPI, sorry for my absence, but I’m back and I have a lot of things I want to talk to you about, so please stay tuned over the next few weeks. Read more...

February 27 marked the 20th anniversary of a series held near and dear to many: Pokémon. Considering a majority of undergraduate college students are between the ages of 18 and 22, it’s safe to assume that many of us grew up with this series and its many adaptations; be it the video games, the trading card game, the television shows, the movies, or something else. Pokémon has become a major staple in the current industry while maintaining a permanent home in our nostalgia. Read more...

The Engineers crashed and burned their way out of the ECAC hockey playoffs over break, getting blown out by Harvard in both of the two games they played. All season long, RPI had been heavily reliant on stellar goaltending from senior Jason Kasdorf. That dependency came back to haunt the Engineers when Kasdorf injured his groin during a pre-game skate on the morning before the first game. According to RPI coach Seth Appert, there was no contact that led to the injury, and it was just an unlucky freak accident. Read more...

On Thursday, March 10, the Rensselaer Union Executive Board meeting opened with no agenda. The night’s meeting focused on facility reports that members of the E-Board delivered based on their personal research and inquiry. Read more...