News

Prospective students replete with diversity

Ed/Op

Editors Corner
Editor seeks improvement

Editorial Notebook
Don't pee your pants during finals

Top Hat
Students should use winter break to relax

Presidents Corner
Faculty, students honored for achievements

Undergraduate Council
Public Saftey fails to assure

Derby
Changes planned

Features

Baldwin describes underwater explorations

Audience finds film odd, bizarre

Dave Barry
Teen smoking not mature

Sports

Engineers earn four points in ECAC play

Men’s basketball mauled

Engineers drop two to ranked opponents

Women’s hoops falls to Ephs, tames Lyons

Rensselaer in Brief

Armed man not a threat

On Wednesday, November 28, Public Safety responded to a call of a suspicious person in the Darrin Communications Center, who was suspected to be armed as well. The suspect was described as a white male in his mid 20s, with dark spiky hair, carrying a black shopping type bag. The man had made a purchase from the Jazzman’s Café; a student noticed that the male appeared to be armed, while the barista was unable to see the weapon because of the counter’s height.

Troy Police Department was notified by the Institute and responded, covering campus in police officers. The investigation later revealed the man was an employee of Loomis-Wells Fargo who was on campus to replenish the Bank of America ATM in DCC. Although no one on the RPI campus is allowed to carry a weapon, employees who replenish the ATM have always been an exception to this rule. Director of Public Safety Jerry Matthews stated earlier in the semester that their job requires more protection and therefore Public Safety has allowed them to remain armed while on campus.

Volunteers recognized

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently honored a team of RPI faculty and staff for their critical contributions to the rebuilding of New Orleans levees destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

The awards were presented in a ceremony held in the Jonsson Engineering Center on Wednesday, November 28. The group, led by professors Tarek Abdoun, Thomas Zimmie, and Ricardo Dobry of Rensselaer’s Center for Earthquake Engineering Simulation in the School of Engineering, received an assortment of awards, including the coveted Commander’s Award for Public Service, and certificates from the Corps and its Hurricane Katrina Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force.

Task force to be formed

At its meeting last week, the Student Senate passed a resolution to form the Student Sustainability Task Force, a student-chaired group focused on bringing together students, faculty, and staff members with the goal of improving sustainability efforts on campus.

The task force plans to address a multitude of issues on campus including recycling, energy conservation, and public awareness of the benefits of sustainability efforts at an institution like RPI. The group also hopes to compare RPI to various other schools in these areas in order to highlight areas for improvement. The first meeting for the Student Sustainability Task Force was held on Wednesday, November 28.