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News
On campus housing in demand new wheels Record freshman class retains size RHA shapes dorm life with activities
Ed/Op
Staff Editorial
Put students before city Editorial Notebook
Marketing poisons minds Editorial Notebook
Open gym closed for students Derby
E-Board looks for talented members Panhellenic Council
Statement coming close to completion Top Hat
Senate searches for historian Interfraternity Council
Fraternities face trying times
Features
Sheer Idiocy hangs around in Mother’s Dave Barry
Grave piñata threat exposed at party Words to Eat By
Papa’s Corner impresses Prevent suicides by showing you care
Sports
Red Hawks sizzling entering UCAA play Women’s lacrosse destroys Brewers Weather dampens tennis Softball splits with Union, sweeps Skidmore Crew teams cruise over Division I foes Parenteau, Quinn, Rickert lead Red Hawks Engineers break six UCAA records Denver wins first title in 35 years
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Rensselaer in Brief
Proctor’s purchased
Last week, RPI announced its purchase of the Proctor’s Theatre building in downtown Troy. According to President Shirley Ann Jackson, the goal for the building, located at 82 Fourth Street, “is to develop a high-end hotel that will provide economic and community benefits to the city of Troy and to the surrounding area.”
The Proctor’s Theatre building was originally built in 1914 and showcased theatre and later movies, closing in 1977. The building was purchased in 2000 by 1888 Hudson Realty LLC and was maintained for later development.
RPI says that the Proctor’s Theatre building purchase is a part of its “Communiversity” program focused on improving Troy. In addition to this purchase, RPI has helped people buy homes as part of Rensselaer’s Homebuyer Incentive Grant program; been moving students, staff, and faculty into buildings located downtown; and is spending $3 million to improve the streets surrounding campus.
Smoking ban upheld
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero upheld New York’s state and city laws that ban smoking in bars and restaurants last week. The plaintiffs had claimed that the laws violated smokers’ constitutional rights, but the judge rejected those arguments.
A group called NYC CLASH (Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment), set out to challenge the laws, claiming that smoking was a form of expression or speech that was a guaranteed right of citizens. They also claimed that the laws violated equal protection laws, saying that the laws discriminated against smokers.
The judge ruled that both the state and city were acting within their powers to ban smoking in restaurants and bars, saying that smokers can still gather and smoke wherever it is not illegal to do so. According to The Associated Press, the judge said that the Constitutional grounds of the case were such a stretch that it was “akin to trying to scale Mount Everest with a ball of string.” Recommendation made
New York State’s Commission on Judicial Conduct recently recommended that Troy City Court Judge Henry Bauer be removed from the elected position that he has held since 1994. In a 6-3 vote, with one member absent and one seat unfilled, the commission made its recommendation citing coercion of guilty pleas, examples of excessive bail being set, and instances where Bauer did not inform defendants of their right to counsel.
One case that the commission looked at involved Bauer setting $25,000 bail for a defendant arrested for riding a bike on the sidewalk without a horn or light. One week later, Bauer let the defendant plead guilty and pay a fine. He justified his rulings by saying that the defendant had been arrested over 20 times and used three different names.
Bauer is up for re-election this year and opted to have the hearing in public. He has said that he will ask the Court of Appeals to review the case. After this is done, the commission has a month to put together their case and then arguments can be scheduled. Since the court is closed during July and August, it could be months before a final decision is reached.
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