Grand Marshal Week has for years served as a spirit week for the student body of RPI, bringing with it a string of events to adorn the tradition. This year featured a series of “Mystery Mayhem” themed events throughout the Student Union and beyond.
UPAC’s Union After Dark kicked off the week on Monday night, turning the McNeil room into a casino with games of roulette and blackjack taking the floor and prizes including a JBL speaker, Squishmallows, and more. In tandem with the main event, visitors could also get airbrush tattoos, make clay sculptures with GZ Basement, enjoy mystery-themed boardgames, and even take part in a pretend crime scene investigation.
Tuesday’s scavenger hunt continued the week’s mystery theme with participants following clues around campus in exchange for a GM week baseball cap and a raffle ticket. The game started at the Union and led students in a rough circle around campus, bringing them to the ‘87 gym, Carnegie Hall, Darrin Communications Center, and eventually back to the union where they could find the final checkoff in the theater on the first floor. Eager participants could be seen sprinting to and from the Union, whilst others treated the game as an excuse for a relaxing campus stroll.
Wednesday, Grand Marshal Day itself, was full of festivity in celebration of the day off from classes. Instead of typical lab sessions, students found themselves at the annual Provost Picnic, held in the Armory. This year’s rendition was bustling with excitement, featuring an inflatable obstacle course, laser tag, meltdown, twister, and a petting zoo, not to mention a Dance Dance Revolution freeplay session with the DDR club as well as a rowing game with RPI Crew. Many came in groups of friends, enjoying a relaxing, sunny afternoon lunch in the middle of the week.
With an entire day free of classes, GM day featured many other on campus events as well, including a pickup frisbee tournament with Puckman himself, Alpha Gamma Delta’s annual Dance Off, and Alpha Phi Omega’s biggest meme on campus debates which preceded the official GM week candidate debate. APO’s candidates included their mascot “glump”, the old SIS interface, Dr. Corey Woodcock, and Master Oogway from the Kung Fu Panda series. Participants debated over whose jokes are most prevalent throughout the student body, crafting an entertaining atmosphere prior to the real debates.
After hearing what the candidates had to say at the final debates, Thursday gave students the opportunity to vote for their new Student Senate at stations within the Union, Commons Dining Hall, and DCC. As per tradition, voters received a GM week mug which they could fill with root beer from the Phalanx Honor Society. This year’s GM week saw the highest voter turnout of all time with polls bustling with voters almost all day long.
To close out this eventful week, the final ceremony–the Mystery Dinner–was held in the Union’s McNeil room on Friday evening. Visitors came in business casual attire and enjoyed their dinner while Elections Commissioner Caleb Carr ’25, ’26G announced the results of the election. Afterwards, to close out GM Week 2026, UPAC hosted an interactive murder mystery game with performers acting out the events of the crime and visitors piecing together clues to determine who did it.
