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I hope you all took the opportunity to attend the NSBE/SHPE Career Fair this past week. First I want to give a shout out to the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the volunteers that made this year's career fair such a huge success!

Freshmen campaigning kicked off last week on September 16. Freshmen students can now attend informational sessions to learn about the rules and procedures of campaigning and elections, which is a requirement for campaigning.

The Executive Board met on Thursday to allocate $140 to the Dance Dance Revolution Club, approve two club budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, and make plans for the upcoming Union open house.

September 15 marked the beginning of Latinx Heritage Month, which recognizes the importance of Latinx culture and history within the United States. Three student organizations—Alianza Latina, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity—have events planned throughout the month, and all students are welcome to participate in the festivities.

The Polytechnic sat down with the fifer that has been heard playing across campus to learn more about his life.

Out of the many clubs promoting sustainability on campus, Terra Café is definitely the yummiest one. They’ve partnered with Sodexo to bring affordable and alternative dining options every Wednesday. Located in the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, Terra Café tries to use local produce as often as they can when making these meals.

Troy experienced another historic flood on Wednesday, August 21. Though this was weeks ago, damages to campus still linger and affect student life. Sage Avenue is still not open to through traffic, 104 students have been displaced from their assigned dormitories “until further notice,” and landscape repairs are ongoing throughout campus.

Senators heard and discussed two Student Senate petitions that gathered over 250 signatures each during the summer. “At the end of the day I’m not sure how much more as a community we can do,” said Hospitality Services Advisory Committee Chair Rhea Banerjee about the create-your-own meal plan removal.

I play Tetris every day. Some days it’s just for 10 minutes, others it’s for upwards of four hours. It’s not something that I think or plan to do, it’s just something that happens whenever I sit down at my desk or open my laptop to do work. It’s not a problem—most of the time. There, of course, are times that I find myself saying “just one more game” a little too often when I’m supposed to be doing work—or writing this.

I didn’t appreciate how well the freshman engineering curriculum is structured until I went home for the summer after freshman year. It's designed so that every student knows by the end of their freshman year if they love engineering and are sure about the major they chose.

On Saturday, the Rensselaer Union hosted the 2019 Student Leader Summit. The event included conference-style “choose-your-own” workshops, breakfast, lunch, and a special keynote presentation featuring Heidi Knoblauch, the owner of the Plumb Oyster Bar in Downtown Troy.

The annual Hockey Season Kick-Off event, to commemorate the start of the Men's and Women’s Division 1 hockey seasons, will take place outside of the Union on Wednesday, September 18 at 1 pm. There is a new Flex-Ticket Pack this year that allows students to purchase five tickets for the price of $20.

Tuesday was World Suicide Prevention Day. I want to take this chance to inform students of the resources available to them here at Rensselaer.

Science does not exist in a vacuum. There are consequences, both good and bad, for every discovery. Scientists are often depicted as apolitical, only concerned with their work, and unconcerned by its implications. This trope is convenient for those who wish to absolve themselves of any guilt over the uses of their work. This is nihilistic and dangerous. As engineers, scientists, and programmers we are in a privileged position.

The Executive Board caught up to speed in their first meeting back from the Summer break. The Board’s primary focus was discussion regarding updates on the “dominoes project” approved last spring, accompanied by position appointments and general announcements.

Journalism is in flux. The traditional newspaper is dead. Revenue from selling advertisements in a printed edition is shrinking. Across the country, smaller newspapers are being bought by national conglomerates, and the staffs that understand local issues better than anyone are being eviscerated to cut costs.

I spent this summer interning in New York City. While I loved my internship experience, I learned a lot about myself and the city outside of working hours. This was a new playground for me—one with different swings and slides than the ones I was used; my childhood in New Hampshire nor my college years in upstate New York had prepared me for a bite of the biggest apple.

Restaurant week is a celebration of the diverse, dandy, and dapper dining establishments of Troy, NY. It runs from September 9 to September 15, and special deals are offered just for the week. These are a selection of restaurants in Downtown Troy that members of the Polytechnic enjoy.

Welcome Fest, the penultimate Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond event for the incoming class, started off with the traditional handshake from President Shirley Ann Jackson at the Approach.

Welcome back to RPI! The start of the fall semester is always such an exciting time to come back to campus and see everything that has changed. Whether you are a freshman or a senior you can appreciate the nostalgia and excitement the start of school brings.

Welcome back to campus everyone! And welcome RPI Class of 2023! I hope everyone had an amazing, restful summer. While you were relaxing on the beach or working hard participating in Arch or an internship, we have been hard at work! If you have not been to the Union yet, I highly suggest you go check it out. Right off the bat, you will notice some great changes; we’ve added new paint, floors, and furniture throughout the building to help create the most productive, comfortable space we can for students.