The name RPI has a lot of history
and tradition behind it that
should make us all proud to go
here. In 1835, RPI awarded the
first civil engineering degree in
the United States. Washington
Roebling, Class of 1857, was the
chief engineer of the Brooklyn
Bridge. Even our campus, with
its many old beautiful brick
buildings, makes one reminisce
about the glory days of engineering.
RPI’s strong reputation,
which she rightfully deserves,
is dying, and it is being replaced
with an image of a sloth. This
new image is exemplified by the
proposed Class of 2009 gift of a
new “video game lounge” in the
Rensselaer Union.
The direction RPI is heading in
reminds me more of Aldous Huxley’s
Brave New World—blandly
numbing our minds to avoid any
unpleasantries we may happen
to otherwise come across—than
a prestigious research university.
Granted, our academics have
remained impressive over the
years, and our students deserve
a lot of credit for that; but our
social reputation is pathetic.
Video games and television are
to blame for this. Just because
we work hard doesn’t mean we
can justify wasting the rest of our
free time on pursuits as trivial as
video games. As for television,
my good friend Father Francis
McCloskey put it best when he
said, “Television is the new Trojan
horse. Welcome it into your
home so that later it can corrupt
your entire pattern of thinking
and subjugate your children.”
What has happened to our energy,
creativity, and love of life?
Is a video game lounge really the
best “gift” we can come up with?
The last thing RPI needs is something
to encourage her students
to remain inside and inactive. We
need to get our students passionate
about making the most of their
college experiences. These four
years fly by, and too often do we
look back on them and realize we
didn’t take full advantage of all
the great opportunities college has
to offer. Nobody ever looks back
fondly on the hours they wasted
drooling in front of the television.
We are all at times tempted to
partake in the pleasurable but
meaningless act of playing video
games or watching television;
but these are the times I turn to
the words of Soren Kierkegaard:
“Let others complain that our
age is wicked; my complaint is
that it is wretched, for it lacks
passion. Men’s thoughts are thin
and flimsy like lace, they themselves
are pitiable like lacemakers.
The thoughts of their hearts
are too paltry to be sinful. For a
worm it might be regarded as a
sin to harbor such thoughts, but
not for a being made in the image
of God.” We need to take back
this passion for life that we have
wandered from.
My final point is that the
Class of 2009 did not even vote
for this video game lounge.
What was voted for was the
renovation of Mother’s that
would include “upgrading the
furniture, electronic capabilities,
and usability of the room,”
and “an enhanced performance
venue for clubs and organizations.”
Somehow, this turned
into buying “several flat screen
televisions, including a 50-inch
plasma TV, a Wii, Playstation,
and Xbox 360.”
Until now, our class representatives
have done a great job, but this
time they really messed up. If you
are upset about this, I encourage
you to contact Class President
David Drew ’09; and Class Vice
President/Chair of the Class Gift
Committee Kristina Baker. If you
feel strongly about this, either
way, I also encourage you to click
either “attending” or “not attending”
on the Facebook group “We
Oppose the Planned Class of 2009
Video Game Lounge Gift.”
Nate Harrison
PHYS ’09
