RIB

Alleged Stalker Arrest

Gary G. Rullo, of Delaware was arrested on campus last week and charged with stalking RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson. A one time employee of Federal Express, he claims to have been fired after suggesting that a security firm was not performing its duties for the company.

Rullo also stated that someone showed up at his house and attempted to kill him, naming both Federal Express and a company executive. Because Dr. Jackson is on the company’s Board of Directors, he sent e-mails to the campus talking about the death attempt in June and later came to campus to post “Wanted” signs for information on Dr. Jackson’s supposed participation in the conspiracy to kill him.

As he was posting signs last week, Public Safety arrested him and turned him over to Troy Police. As he was arraigned last Friday, his son was also arrested for tripping the Rensselaer County District Attorney after the court proceedings.

EMPAC Groundbreaking

This Friday, from noon to 1 pm, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held for the new Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. The ceremony will be attended by trustees, administrators, members of the community, and President Jackson. The groundbreaking will take place near the building’s future site, next to the Folsom Library.

The project, which will cost over $140 million, will be a state of the art facility for students, staff, researchers, and community members. It will include two theatres, the largest of which will have 1200 seats. In addition to providing a digital broadcasting studio for WRPI, there are also plans to have professional video editing stations, and black box studios for dance, multimedia, and other performances.

The ceremony is open to all and a reception will follow.

On-Campus Closures

The many events scheduled for this week have forced the temporary closings of many on campus facilities. The parking lot behind the Heffner Alumni House will be closed until next Tuesday. The parking lot by the Field House will remain open and the shuttle service will be running.

The food cart in Sage Labs will be closed all day on Friday. The EMPAC Groundbreaking Luncheon has been relocated to the Heffner Alumni House, meaning that the Sage Dining Hall will be open for normal service. All other food locations should be operating on normal operating schedules.

9/11 Remembered

Many events last Thursday marked the two year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. At 8:46 am, members of the ROTC lowered the flags on campus to half staff and a brief ceremony was held on the corner of 15th Street and Sage Avenue. Remarks were made by President Jackson as well as the Grand Marshal. “America the Beautiful” was sung by professor Henry Scarton and Jason Miller ’04 played “Taps.”

At noon, bells across campus tolled for five minutes to signal a campus wide moment of silence. Members of the ROTC stood with the flags in front of the armory throughout the day.

In the evening, the 9/11 remembrances also included a discussion panel as well as remarks on both memorials and future plans for the former site of the World Trade Center.

Radiation Concerns

An unreleased new federal study examined 250 sites that were given classified government contracts to work on atomic weapons. It found that there was “high potential” that at 100 of them, the radiation left behind was strong enough to raise workers’ chances of cancer and other diseases. Of the sites on the list, is RPI and two nearby sites.

The National Lead Industries site in Colonie is currently being investigated and a class action lawsuits are being thought about. The Allegheny Ludlum Steel Plant in Watervliet also made the federal list.

While RPI has not discussed the type of nuclear work that was done here, spokeswoman Theresa Bourgeois told the Troy Record, “We have undertaken an internal review and we are also awaiting release of the federal report.”

Ethics and Sports

RPI alumnus Myles Brand ’64 will be starting off the “Humanities @ Rensselaer” lecture series this Friday. The lecture, entitled “The Ethical and Academic Challenges of College Sports,” will be held from 4 pm until 6 pm in Sage Labs 3303 and broadcast live on WRPI. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

A one time President of Indiana University and the University of Oregon, he was named to the presidency of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) earlier this year. While on campus, he will be inducted into the Rensselaer’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

In addition to his philosophy degree from Rensselaer, he also holds a degree from the University of Rochester. Before entering administration, he had served as a professor. During Saturday’s football game, Brand will join President Jackson during halftime for a “Athletic Alumni Ap