Confusion surrounds Red Army podcast funding

The Executive Board passed RPI Red Army’s proposal for a new podcast on October 14, but motioned to postpone a budget reallocation that would cover the cost of a new microphone for the program. Even though no money was allocated, creating a new program and goal through the podcast allows the E-Board to do so in the future.

RPI Red Army, a fan club for RPI Athletics, hosts a podcast called Talkin’ Neers which discusses Rensselaer hockey every Wednesday. The club normally records Talkin’ Neers through the Union Show Techs, a student organization that provides lighting and sound direction for campus events. However, the club was recently informed by Show Techs that their podcast was not in line with the services Show Techs provide. In consequence, Red Army sought funding from the Rensselaer Union to purchase a microphone to record the show independently.

During the Executive Board meeting where Red Army sought this support, Graduate Executive Board Representative Brian Anderson pointed out that the Union Show Techs could not deny RPI Red Army from future service, as supervising a club-related podcast does fall within Show Tech duties. In response to this concern, a motion was put forth to postpone the financing of a new microphone until an inquiry into Show Tech’s decision was undertaken. The motion passed unanimously.

Upon further inquiry, President of the Union Yaseen Mahmoud '22 clarified that Union Show Techs did not mean to insult podcasting, and meant to point out that it is a waste of resources to have a Show Tech on-call to record a podcast if they do not work on the podcast itself, as Show Techs are paid employees of the Union. In a statement to The Polytechnic, Mahmoud said the Union will find a solution that will allow clubs to record podcasts without having a paid Show Tech on staff or having to buy every club their own microphone.