As a proud graduate of RPI, I think that they should at least give us something. When I was checking in on the senior career and networking fair a week before my graduation date, I was told by the Alumni Association that I could receive a free e-mail account with the ending @alum.rpi.edu. I decided to do this because not only was it free, I also deemed it more professional than having a Hotmail, AOL, or Yahoo account when I contacted people in the business world.

As I was logging in to my e-mail account this week, I discovered that there was going to be an upgrade to the server. With this upgrade came, surprise, a fee which will now be charged to keep my alumni account. Granted, this is a small fee, something like $15 dollars a year, however, when you add that to the student loans it will take me the next twelve years to pay off, that amounts to an extra $180.

Also, RPI will inevitably ask me to keep donating to their general fund, at which my current rate is $20 per year, that adds another $240. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the tens of thousands of dollars that my parents and I paid for me to attend the ‘Tute.

With the amount of money that RPI generates every year with the current students paying tuition, the number of alumni giving donations, and other donors that give to RPI either anonymously or otherwise, I think that the Institute can afford to give us a free e-mail account for as long as we want one.

Ed DerGurahian