For the past semester and a half I have had the privilege of sitting in on the Rensselaer Union Executive Board meetings, Thursdays at 8 pm. To be totally honest with everyone, it wasn’t always a privilege. I started the semester off starry-eyed and willing to take on any task for the Editorial Board of The Poly. I thought, “Dang, these people are official. They’re like … a real newspaper.” Having dealt with nothing so professional, I was easily roped into the task of covering what was so elusively referred to as “E-Board.” Read more...

Released in 1997, Paul Simon’s ninth solo studio album, Songs from The Capeman, received the worst response of any album in Simon’s decades-long career. Originally written to accompany a Broadway musical of the same name, the album is a reimagining of latin music accompanied by a church choir. Although the musical itself was ultimately a failure, many critics found some redemption in the score written by Simon. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Derek Walcott, Simon managed to create a story through smart lyrics and fun reimaginings of latin music. For the sake of clarity, this is not a review of the musical. This is merely a review of the album that managed to escape with some of its dignity intact. Read more...

In an exhilarating race for first place in the men’s 400 meters that was ultimately decided by a separation of eight thousandths of a second, RPI freshman Jason Hall was declared the winner after crossing side by side with junior Max Drexler. Theirs was the second-fastest heat of the 400 on Saturday at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s quad meet, earning them fifth and sixth overall after the running of the final heat. Overall, the Engineers placed runner up to the host, with the men earning 157 points to MIT’s 227, and the women scoring 155-206.5. Read more...

Wednesday, April 6 was the last meeting of the 46th Student Senate. While their term of office is not over until new senators are elected, the Senate does not have any further planned meetings. At this meeting, the Senate spent time reviewing what the committees completed this past year, and what plans they have for the future. Read more...

Hello everyone,

This will be my final Top Hat article, and with everything going on, I’ll admit it really snuck up on me. I have a lot I wish I could tell everyone, so forgive me for being wordy. Read more...

Despite the sense of fright and extreme suppression in my soul afterwards, I have to say that Nightcrawler is an amazing neo-noir, crime thriller film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and featuring Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, and Bill Paxton. It looks into how a former thief, Louis Bloom, experienced all-rounded discrimination in society when trying to find a job, worked as a stringer—a freelance cameraman—to keep his head above water, and finally lost humanity and morality in his ‘dodge’ and the morbid pursuit of so-called ‘successful and meaningful business.’ Read more...

Three doubleheaders in five days may sound like a difficult challenge, but the softball team walked out with five wins and just nine walks over all six games. Read more...

Last Thursday April 7, the Rensselaer Union Executive Board held their final official meeting of the semester. Read more...

With the semester about two thirds of the way to completion, classes are ramping up in difficulty in preparation for finals, and the workload for all RPI students is increasing from an already extraordinarily high level. Combine the academic rigors of RPI with social and club commitments, and it is easy to see how people can get stressed. Mix in the fact that Grand Marshal Week 2016 elections are tomorrow and an emotional powder keg has been created, ready to explode. It is easy to see how—with your personal time and energy being spread thin—sometimes basic human decency can be thrown out the window. Read more...

RPI’s Ballroom Dance Team hosted its 9th Annual Dancesport Competition in the Alumni Sports and Recreation Center on Saturday, April 2nd. Over one hundred competitors from across the Northeast attended the competition, from schools including Boston University, Rochester Institute of Technology, the College of the Holy Cross, and Stony Brook University. About one hundred spectators, students, family, and community members alike also showed up to support the RPI Ballroom Team and watched some wonderful dancing. Read more...

On Friday, April 8, former RPI goalie Jason Kasdorf made his NHL debut in a start for the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo. Kasdorf played reasonably well in his first professional appearance, stopping 26 of the 30 shots he faced. However, the game ended 4-1 in favor of the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. It may not have been the ideal start to his professional career, but the game was a valuable experience for Kasdorf. Read more...

I have seen some comments about the lack of a Grand Marshal endorsement by The Polytechnic. I have seen comments calling the staff pretentious and petty, and I have to agree. As a voting member of The Poly, I was completely in favor of endorsing Paul Ilori '17 for Grand Marshal. I didn't care that he was slightly unprofessional in his interview. I looked at his submissions and his extensive track record with student government, and I thought he was the best person for the job. I have heard first-hand accounts that when it comes down to meetings with administrators, Ilori is professional and gets the job done. Read more...

Dear Rensselaer Community,

Tomorrow, you’ll be voting in one of the oldest traditions at RPI: Grand Marshal Week. That will bring an end to my term and bring a new President of the Union. I have spent a lot of time over the past few days thinking over what to write in my last Derby, and it has come down to a simple “Thank You.” Thank you for granting me the privilege to serve as your 126th President of the Union. Thank you for helping me bleed cherry red and ivory white. Thank you for changing my life. Read more...

Almost every Wednesday this semester, the Embedded Hardware Club has hosted one-to-two hour workshops on subjects of interest to its members. Last week was no exception; Club President John Drogo ’16 ran an interesting and innovative workshop to show members how to read and decode a microprocessor assembly at the club’s lab in Russell Sage Laboratory 2202. Microprocessor assembly languages function by mapping directly to the underlying hardware CPU instruction sets. Assemblers can take in human-readable assembly code and produce machine code. Read more...

After interviewing both candidates and holding many hours of discussion, The Polytechnic has chosen to not endorse a candidate for Grand Marshal. Instead, we will highlight the positives of each candidate, and discuss the negatives that prevented the Editorial Board from coming to a definitive conclusion. Read more...

The Polytechnic endorses Chip Kirchner ’17 for President of the Union. We feel that he presented himself and his platform well in our interview; his plans for office were clearly stated in his submissions, and his leadership experience and success as a leader make him the best candidate for PU. Read more...

The Polytechnic endorses Eryka Greaves ’17 for the position of Undergraduate President. This endorsement marks a first for The Poly, as the Editorial Board traditionally only endorsed candidates for Grand Marshal and President of the Union, as well as any referenda passed by the Student Senate. However, as a result of the 2015 changes to the Union Constitution, the position became directly elected during GM Week, and we felt the position’s importance warranted an endorsement. Read more...

The Student Senate has posed five questions to the student body as referenda on the GM Week 2016 ballot. Read more...

Graduate Council met with the candidates running for Grand Marshal and President of the Union. We asked several questions to each candidate regarding how they would involve and support graduate students in their goals for the Student Senate and Rensselaer Union. Based on their responses and platforms, we have decided to endorse a candidate for GM and PU. Read more...