The Black Student Alliance hosted its annual fashion show last Saturday, February 25, in the McNeil Room. Read more...

News: 

• Vice President for Student Life Ross resigns
• Jackson reflects on pursuit on knowledge, higher education during "A Place for All People"
• Community and Outreach Committee bylaw change ruled out of order
• Cubing Club gains recognition, bylaws changes approved

Features: Read more...

This past Saturday, President Shirley Ann Jackson spoke about her experiences as a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution; her thoughts on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the poster exhibit, “A Place for All People,” in the McNeil Room. This was part of a program hosted by the Black Student Alliance, Rensselaer Union, and the Community Advocates, which also included poetry readings, songs, an excerpt from a sermon, and a performance. Read more...

The most important tool for any college student is the writing utensil. Theoretically, we all take notes in class, and what we take those notes with is of the utmost importance. Sure, one could take notes on a laptop, but there’s always that one professor with the overzealous sketches that don’t quite translate to Microsoft Word. And before anyone complains, yes, I am aware that written note-taking is available on tablets. I am choosing to ignore that for the sake of my arguments. Read more...

About a week ago, I was minding my own business, probably doing homework or re-watching Stranger Things, when a friend messaged me about this thing called the Humble Bundle. He explained it as the “deal of a lifetime” and a way for me to pick up games that I had always been meaning to play. I stopped playing video games a while back, the only exception being Hearthstone and the occasional game of Overwatch, so although the prospect of lucrative deals on time-wasters seemed appealing, it was an offer I had planned on refusing. It wasn’t until my own editor in chief here at The Poly suggested that I look into it that I actually visited the Humble Bundle website. What I saw there blew me away. Read more...

This week, the Student Senate discussed the Union Annual Report document. Last week, the Senate approved the Union Activity Fee, but did not approve the UAR because it still required minor grammatical changes. Thomas Alapatt ’17 presented the document in full this week. Since most questions had been asked the previous week, the motion quickly went to a vote and was approved 16–0–0. Read more...

Hi RPI! I hope that all of you are engaging in a great semester and getting into the right groove to have your best success. Personally, I have begun to think about how to wrap up my term as President of the Union and how to best ensure the success of my successor. As many involved in student government might know, campaigning is just one week away. By April 7, if there are no run-off elections, we will have a new student government. I hope that all who are interested get involved in one way or another. Running for Student Senate or your class council, or applying for the Executive Board are great ways to get involved and share your experience with the student community. If you are looking for less commitment, consider joining student government committees or even attending your class council’s meeting to voice concerns you have or just participate in discussion. Student government at RPI is a large organism and it requires participation from a great many students to thrive. Read more...

AMD’s critically acclaimed show, The Walking Dead, sets the standard for zombie-themed television shows and movies. To begin, it is important to understand the origins of the show- it is a television adaption of a major comic book that was published with the same name. Read more...

First on the Executive Board’s agenda this past Thursday was the Cubing Club. The club came before the E-Board to seek Rensselaer Union recognition. The group was more active a few years ago, but as members graduated, they stopped regular meetings. It has since been revived through contact on their Facebook group. Now, they are looking to firmly establish themselves, and feel that becoming Union-recognized would help. They are also looking to have a cubing competition come to RPI, but it would require recognition from the Union. The E-Board unanimously approved the club recognition. Read more...

I have never been apologetic with regards to my political views, and frankly I was kind of disappointed that I would be leaving the United States for the first six months of the Trump administration. It has already been a decidedly unique period in American politics; never before have we seen so many people stand up and stiff-arm their way through the U.S. legislative process, and it’s exciting to see people that are just beginning to stand up for what they believe in. And it’s for that reason that I was a little disappointed to scamper 3,500 miles away almost immediately after President Trump was inaugurated—I wish I could be there to do my part. Read more...

This past weekend, my parents were very kind in taking me to get a new cell phone because the screen of my iPhone 6 had become quite damaged and it also had a very sparse amount of storage. My previous phone only had 16 gigabytes of space and now I have a vast 128 gigabytes. I also “upgraded” to an iPhone 7. I put upgraded in quotes here because the lack of a headphone jack has already proven to be a hassle, even though I’ve only had the phone for a day now. Read more...

The Engineers had their last home stand of the regular season this past weekend, picking up one win and one loss. Rensselaer seized win number seven of the season against Princeton University on Friday, February 17.  The next night was the Engineers’ biggest home game of the year, Senior Night and the 40th Annual Big Red Freakout against Quinnipiac University.  While the boisterous home crowd had high hopes going into the game, they were unfortunately treated to a big red disaster. Read more...

Since arriving last month, I have been asked by many variations of two questions. First, inquirers have sought information as to my background, such as where I have previously worked, what my previous responsibilities included, and about the kinds of projects and initiatives I have led or been involved with. The second question has been about my plans for the Rensselaer community, with some searching to determine if I will proceed with efforts similar to those endeavored at previous institutions. I want to be clear: I arrived here without presumption, with an overarching guide to contribute to the successful completion of the Rensselaer Plan 2024. More specifically, to build upon the excellent work of my faculty and staff colleagues and that of our exceptional current and former students, to fully realize Clustered Learning, Advocacy, and Support for Students, Summer Arch, Art_X@Rensselaer, and other student focused aspects of the Plan, culminating in the actualization of The New Polytechnic. Read more...

The RPI women’s basketball team played against Bard College on Sunday. Trailing 11–5 in the first quarter, the Engineers continued to score 15 of the first 17 points in the second quarter, leading 20–13 with under four minutes left in the second. Bard scored five points leaving the game at 20–15, but was countered by sophomore guard Elizabeth Eckhardt with a three point shot, opening it to eight points. Following Eckhardt, sophomore guard Sam Krumbhaar followed with another three-point shot, leaving the game at 26–15. Read more...

This past Sunday, the women’s tennis team competed in their first match of the spring portion of their schedule. The anticipated Liberty League match took place in indoor tennis courts at Tri-City Fitness in Latham, NY. The Engineers faced No. 27-ranked Skidmore College. After winning their previous two dual matches last fall, the Engineers were not expecting to lose 9–0 to the Thoroughbreds. The Engineers were unable to take a single win from Skidmore. They lost all their singles, doubles, and exhibition matches. Read more...

On Tuesday, February 21, President Shirley Ann Jackson sent an email to the Rensselaer community announcing the resignation of Vice President for Student Life Dr. Frank Ross, effective March 6, 2017. Ross has been vice president since July 2015. During his time at Rensselaer, he has overseen the reorganization of the Division of Student Life into five broad portfolios, each led by an assistant or an associate vice president reporting directly to the vice president. Read more...

On Sunday, February 12, as heavy snow fell across most of the Northeast, notifications in the form of email, robocall, and text message went out to the Rensselaer community instating the Liberal Leave policy, allowing all non-essential staff members an additional two hours to arrive at work to account for conditions on the following Monday. Read more...

As I continue to trudge through the mid-semester lull of RPI, right before exams start, on the brink of stressed but not getting panic attacks, I’ve come to the conclusion that my experience at RPI is really starting to feel like the phrase “fake it ‘til you make it”. Read more...

Following the 2017 Grammy Awards, the relevance of which is a different matter altogether, I decided to revisit, and rewrite, a review for one of my favorite albums of last year. The album was produced by none other than this year’s Best New Artist, Chance the Rapper. Although the award is thematically incorrect—Chance released his first mixtape 10 Day in early 2012—it serves as a great way to honor a man who managed to become a breakthrough success without signing to any major labels. With his third mixtape, Coloring Book, winning Best Rap Album, Chance seems only to go further and further on his past towards musical stardom. Coloring Book is an experience from start to finish, one where gospel, hip-hop, and jazz blend into a unique cocktail of sound only Chance could deliver. Read more...