Archives

Editor’s Note: This story contains information about an alleged drugging that readers may find triggering.

Objects mandatorily erased from consciousness and a writer struggling to find her place amongst it all. Publicity Editor Mattaya Gibbs ’24 discusses her views on The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa.

The Executive Board approved a motion to designate the Multicultural Sorority and Fraternity Council and their sub-organizations as Union-affiliated clubs.

From the Senate’s composting committee, to the work of Engineers for a Sustainable World, and various research projects pursued by professors and graduate students, plenty of people are working on changing the world at RPI for the better. Kaitlin Barkley '22 argues why RPI should have an Office of Sustainability.

The first-ever Student Film Festival occurred on Wednesday, March 23 hosted by UPAC Cinema in collaboration with the Department of Arts.

Apple released the Mac Studio with the new M1 Ultra chip on March 8. Apple argues that it matches and exceeds the performance of its high-end professional Intel-powered Apple desktops while being the same dimensions of the Mac Mini, at around 2.5 times its height.

The Winter Carnival at the Rensselaer Union had a variety of events for students to participate in during Election Day of Grand Marshal Week. This included performances, carnival games run by various student organizations, and prizes.

Melissa Walega has been hired as a Title IX Coordinator and Senior Human Resources Specialist according to an announcement sent through Morning Mail this morning. Walega is now one of two Title IX coordinators at Rensselaer.

Cait Bennett was reelected for Grand Marshal, Colleen Corrigan was elected President of the Union, and Ria Massoni was elected Undergraduate President. Check back here for GM Week Election updates as results roll in.

The personal information of 570 students was inadvertently leaked on Tuesday, March 22, when a spreadsheet containing the information was mistakenly attached to a mass email for the Lee Foundation Scholarship. The spreadsheet contained students in the School of Engineering with GPAs above 2.80 who have Sophomore or Junior credit standing.

Voting for GM week elections closed at 5 pm today. An estimated 1,820 ballots were cast in the election across four polling locations.

On Tuesday, the two candidates for Grand Marshal, Cait Bennett '22 and Nicole Gramenides '23, participated in a debate held by the Elections Commission. Positions for Undergraduate President and President of the Union were uncontested, so both candidates participated in a 30 minute Q&A session. Elections Commission Chairperson Nicholas Longchamp '24 and The Polytechnic News Editor William Hawkins '23 moderated the debate.

Today is election day. Voting will be open from 8 am to 5 pm at Commons Dining Hall, the Union, DCC, CBIS, and the Folsom Library. Additionally, there are no classes today so that students can vote.

After splitting the first two games of the series in overtime, the Engineers fell 3‒1 to the Harvard Crimson, ending Rensselaer’s run in the ECAC playoffs in the quarterfinals; RPI finished the season with a record of 18‒23‒3. Ture Linden ’22 ends his senior season with 39 points, the most by an Engineer in eight years, and goaltender Jack Watson ’25 ends his first season with a save percentage of .922 and three shutouts.

The Elections Commission has finalized which candidates will appear on the ballot for tomorrow's election. Voting in GM Week elections is open tomorrow from 8 am to 5 pm. All students, including those graduating in May, are eligible to vote.

This year, The Polytechnic endorses Cait Bennett ’22 for Grand Marshal. We believe that Bennett’s experiences as a senator and as Grand Marshal will serve the Rensselaer community well, especially with the incoming arrival of a new Institute president in July.

This year, The Polytechnic endorses Colleen Corrigan ’21 for President of the Union. Corrigan's commitment to bringing back normal club budgeting and ensuring that students are involved earlier in the hiring of Union administrators inspires confidence for a better student experience as we transition to a new administration.

The Polytechnic endorses Ria Massoni-Nesman ’24 for Undergraduate President. The Polytechnic believes that Massoni’s dedication to connecting the undergraduate student body and improving the Arch program will make her a successful Undergraduate President.

For the first time since 2018, the Rensselaer Union will hold an in-person GM Week debate Tuesday in the McNeil room of the Rensselaer Union from 6 to 8 pm.

President of the Union Yaseen Mahmoud endorses Nicole Gramenides '23 for Grand Marshal and Colleen Corrigan '21 for President of the Union.

The Polytechnic asked Grand Marshal candidates to discuss their goals and to reflect on their experiences in Student Government. Here are their responses.

The Polytechnic asked the candidate for President of the Union to discuss her goals and leadership experience and to reflect on Student Government as a whole. Here are her responses.

The Polytechnic asked the Undergraduate President candidate to discuss her goals, leadership experience and to reflect on Student Government as a whole. Here is her response.

“Providing detailed, unbiased reporting of campus life remains my top priority…I didn’t join the paper to tell people who to vote for. I joined to provide people with the information they need to make those decisions for themselves,” explains News Editor William Hawkins ’23 on why he recused himself from The Poly’s endorsement process.

After the general body meeting of the Panhellenic Council on March 16, the council delegates have voted to endorse Nicole Gramenides '23 for Grand Marshal, Colleen Corrigan '21 for President of the Union, Ria Massoni '24 for Undergraduate President, and Hannah Tischler '24 for Panhellenic Senator.

The Rensselaer Black & LatinX Student Coalition endorses Cait Bennett '22 for Grand Marshal, Colleen Corrigan '21 for President of Union, and Ria Massoni '24 for Undergraduate President.

The Polytechnic asked the Class of 2025 candidates for class president, class vice president, class senators, and class representatives to discuss what issues they would address and how it would affect the campus or the members of their class. Here are the responses we received.

The Polytechnic asked the Class of 2024 candidates for class president, class vice president, class senators, and class representatives to discuss what issues they would address and how it would affect the campus or the members of their class. Here are the responses we received.

In an email to the Senate email list Friday night, Grand Marshal Cait Bennett ’22 announced that she is recusing herself as GM until voting in GM Week elections closes.

GM Week begins today with elections on Wednesday. The theme for GM Week is Sweet Week. Associate News Editor Alexander Orr ’25 gives a crash course on what to know and expect for GM Week.

On Thursday, the Executive Board passed a motion to revoke office use for organizations in the Student Government Suite.

Repairs are being made to the Rathskeller’s exhaust system. Thunder Mountain Curry will be experimenting with new menu items. Collar City Grill is now selling cold and pressed sandwiches.

Grand Marshal Cait Bennett ’22 and Undergraduate President candidate Ria Massoni-Nesman ’24 sanctioned by the Elections Commission. Bennett and Massoni-Nesman are now required to get an additional 25 signatures to be on the ballot.

“I stepped down as editor in chief of The Polytechnic over the summer. The decision nearly broke me, though it was necessary to prioritize my health and regain a sense of self,” writes former Editor in Chief Sarah Shiang ’22, upon returning to the newsroom.

On Thursday, the Executive Board unanimously passed motions to recognize the Bangladesh Student Association and allocate the Rensselaer Student Auto Shop $2000 in additional subsidies for repair tools.

Vaporwave expresses a variety of emotions that are otherwise hard to articulate through aesthetics and production. Features Editor Vaughn Greason ’25 examines the aesthetics and evolution of the bands Macintosh Plus and Haircuts for Men, and looks to the future of vaporwave.

One sled named Rosebud and one taken to fetch a rogue queen of ice—despite this central tie, these two movies could not differ more in their plots, themes, and social influence. Publicity Editor Mattaya Gibbs ’25 argues that the cultural impact of Disney's Frozen far outweighs that of Orson Welles' 1941 classic Citzen Kane.

While not the same combat sport that the Princess Bride would have you believe, modern fencing is still the same fast-paced world of technique, defense, and mind games.

The Union Annual Report committee removed the requirement for the UAR chairperson to also serve as a Senate-Executive Board liaison. By doing so, the UAR committee hopes to remove scheduling conflicts for those interested in the position.

After Dartmouth seemingly scored a dagger with five seconds left in the second period, the Engineers resiliently rallied back with a four-goal third period to win 5‒3 in the third match of the best-of-three series, advancing to the second round of the ECAC playoffs. In the victory, Simon Kjellberg ’23 recorded two goals and an assist on the game-winning goal from Ryan Mahshie ’23. The Engineers will travel to Cambridge next weekend to take on the Harvard Crimson.

Copy Editor Dylan Sheils '24 goes through the seminal example of Grover's algorithm to highlight that quantum computers are not just faster computers but instead a fundamental shift in computing.

Mason Klee ’23 scored the game-winning goal in the Engineers’ 3‒2 victory over Dartmouth in the second of the best-of-three series, resulting in a Game 3. The two other scorers for the Engineers were Simon Kjellberg ’23 and Jakub Lacka ’22, and Jack Watson ’25 made 21 saves. Game 3 will be played today at 4 pm.

Defensive errors caused the Engineers to fall 3‒2 in Game 1 of their first-round series with Dartmouth, despite doubling them in shots. Justin Addamo (Gr) led the way for the Engineers, scoring both of their goals in the first period. Jack Watson ’25 made 17 saves in the loss. The two teams take the ice tonight at 7 pm for Game 2.

After the two-day indoor conference, the men’s and women’s track and field teams took third place out of seven teams. Engineers on both teams placed highly at multiple events, and Matt Lecky ’23 was named Men's Track Athlete of the Meet.

The men's and women’s swimming & diving teams both took third place at the four-day Liberty League Championship hosted by Ithaca College. The men’s team finished with a total of 1,296 points; meanwhile, the women finished with 1,214 points. Colleen Whittaker ’25 took first place with a school and meet record-breaking time of 56.18 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly. Ola Nawrocki ’23 broke her own school record from earlier this season in the 100-yard breaststroke. Tony Min ’23 also broke the school record in the 200-yard butterfly.

The St. John Fisher Cardinals scored in all eight innings, half of them in the fifth and sixth, to defeat the Engineers 15‒9 in Rensselaer’s home opener. Engineers Jake Defayette (Gr) and Cole Paquin ’22 hit home runs in the loss, with Martin Marintchev ’23 leading the team with three runs batted in. Alex Vallee ’24 was credited for the loss after pitching two outs in the four-run fifth inning.

The Engineers scored five unanswered goals, four in the third period, for a 6‒3 comeback victory against Dartmouth. ECAC Player of the Week Ture Linden ’22 and Justin Addamo (Gr) both netted two goals, while Linden and Ottoville Leppänen ’22 earned three points each. Rensselaer finished sixth in the ECAC and will replay the Big Green in a best-of-three series this upcoming weekend for the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

A poor performance from the Engineers resulted in a 70‒53 defeat in their semifinal against the Skidmore Thoroughbreds. The loss is Rensselaer’s second at the hands of Skidmore, bringing their season record to 21‒5. Despite the loss, the Engineers obtained an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and will play Nichols College in the first round.

On Thursday, the Union Executive Board passed subsidy reallocations for the Union Show Techs and the Student Senate. A motion to merge the UPAC lights reserve and the UPAC sound reserve was also approved.