News

Faculty Senate holds elections

Students present new ideas

RPI holds annual DYFD

Ed/Op

Staff Editorial
Portrayal of The End of the ’Tute embarrassing

Editorial Notebook
No option in BARH dining

Editorial Notebook
Gun debate ignores human factor

Precise abortion definition risks upheaval

My View
Counseling Center misconceptions limit assistance

Panhellenic Council
Excellence celebrated over Greek Weekend

Derby
Stability crucial for gun owners

Features

Players’ City of Angels impresses, intrigues

Rusty Pipes sing fun, trendy music

Messler attains RHA award

Military alumni make a difference in Africa

McDonnell humors audience with folk songs

Dave Barry
Married couples cope with anger

Sports

Week of solid success for Red Hawks

Softball inconsistent over weekend play

Men’s lacrosse wins, bound for playoffs

Red Hawks struggle through difficult league weekend

Volleyball advances to Regionals

One-Timers
A-Rod sizzles throughout April, makes history

Rensselaer in Brief
Fountain Day celebrated
This past Sunday marked an annual rite of Spring as the University of Albany turned on the 150 jet fountain on campus. Every year, as an end-of-semester celebration, thousands of people gather to play in the cool, 172-foot-long pool. Last year, about 4,000 people attended the event. This year, that number was doubled as over 8,000 people crammed together around the fountain.

Ensuring the safety of all the participants was a 100-member security team whose members limited the number of people in the pool at once to no more than 4,000. The event is one that has been associated with drunk partying in the past, and the Albany Student Press reported SUNY Chancellor John Ryan as having said “that he thought the day should be nixed.” One UAlbany official stated that Ryan had not communicated that sentiment to the school.

One student, freshman Mark Rudes, was quoted by the Times Union as proclaiming Fountain Day as “the best day in Albany so far,” even though he had shown up wearing white sneakers. “Next year I’m gonna wear sandals,” he said.

Student Senate update
The Student Senate opened its bylaws to change at yesterday’s meeting by submitting a proposed revised version to the Rules and Elections Committee for review and recommendations. Many of the changes are clarifications to the wording, but there are also a number of substantial modifications. Many of those pertained to the accountability of the senators and Senate committees by clearly delineating their responsibilities as well as the consequences of failing to meet those expectations; another change will mandate that more appointments to officer positions require approval of a two-thirds majority of the total Student Senate membership.

After RNE reviews the proposed changes, the committee will submit its recommendations back to the Senate; amendments will then require a two-thirds majority of the total voting membership of the Senate.

Also discussed in yesterday’s Senate meeting was the spoof video, The End of the ’Tute. The Flash video, available online at http://endofthetute.com/, is a parody of the popular online satirical video, The End of the World. The Senate passed a motion supporting the creators of the video against any attempts to violate their rights to free speech, and applauding them for their “creativity, entrepreneurship, and dedication to the enrichment of student life and culture at the Institute.”