Power outage
On Tuesday afternoon, approximately 50 percent of the core campus was plunged into relative darkness by an unexpected power outage. According to Physical Plant Director Mark Frost, the service interruption was caused by the unintentional shorting of an underground high voltage cable which supplies power to the above ground electrical substation off College Avenue near Cogswell Labs.
The outage lasted from 1:15 - 2 pm and affected the Ricketts Building, the Quad, the Union, and Russell Sage Labratory several other major buildings. The freshman hill residence halls, which receive power from lines on Burdett Avenue, were unaffected. Power was restored once Physical Plant electricians were able to determine the source of the problem and reset the appropriate circuit breakers.
Student wins big
Former Union College student Mary Ann Nolan, 24, was awarded $15.8 million by a Rensselaer County jury Saturday in the first decision from a negligence case which began in January 2003. She had fallen into a manhole in a dark parking lot on Union’s Schenectady campus, resulting in deep vein thrombosis and constant pain in her legs.
Though specific details of the negligent behavior were never heard in court, due to the college’s admission of negligence, counsel for Nolan indicated that a plow had scraped off the manhole cover earlier in the month during a snowstorm, and a temporary plywood cover had generally been used. On the day of the accident, this plywood was not covering the hole.
Discussions have since ensued regarding whether the large award, especially its $8 million for future pain and suffering, is within reasonable limits. The college intends to appeal the decision.
RPI leaders visit India
A delegation of administrators and researchers, led by President Shirley Ann Jackson, headed to India on Tuesday for a series of meetings aimed at increasing cooperation between Indian entities and the Institute, as well as fostering connections with alumni in the world’s second largest nation. India is home to more Rensselaer alumni than any other foreign country.
President Jackson aims to “spark and nurture global technological innovation” while concurrently expanding the Institute’s international reach. Included on the agenda are meetings with Indian President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam and tours of the IBM India Research Lab.
GM Week draws near
On Tuesday, campaign season for the positions of grand marshal and president of the Union kicked off with a colorful display of individual and party advertisements and posters all around the academic campus. To date, the Rules and Elections Committee has received four candidacy declarations for GM and three for PU, far outpacing interest in recent election seasons.
RNE Chair Kim Conway did not have an explanation for the large pool of candidates early in the process, though she did indicate that candidates and RNE were working amicably together.
