About The Polytechnic

The Polytechnic is the student-run newspaper of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It is published weekly, except during holiday and examination periods as authorized by the Rensselaer Union. The Poly can be obtained at locations throughout campus, or at our office on the top level of the Rensselaer Union. The paper is published free of charge.

Submission Guidelines

The Polytechnic welcomes your opinions. Letters to the Editor must be typed, signed and less than 500 words in length. The telephone number of the author is required for letter verification. All letters are due by 5pm on the Friday prior to publication.

Centerspread Policy

The following is the policy for centerspreads which was adopted by The Polytechnic on September 2, 1996. It takes effect immediately. Please direct any questions to The Poly via e-mail at editor@poly.union.rpi.edu.

Purpose: The Polytechnic centerspread is a public service of the Poly to the campus.

Content: Since the centerspread is not an advertisement, content will be subject to Poly editorial approval. Content must be of campus-wide interest, and not just that of a specific club.

Advertising: Centerspreads may not be used as a medium for free advertising. This includes, but is not limited to, any campus event for which an admission will be charged. Events on campus which are open to all Rensselaer students free of charge or are service-oriented in nature may be proposed to the editors as eligible for publicity via a centerspread.

Sale of space: Priority will be given to any advertiser who wishes to purchase the centerspread as advertising space. A scheduled centerspread will be rescheduled in the event that the space is sold.

Public service announcement: Each centerspread must contain a message measuring no less than one inch high and two inches wide stating that it is a public service of The Poly. If the layout has been provided by The Poly, this space will also contain a message crediting the person responsible for the layout.

Scheduling: If a club would like a centerspread, they should contact the Editor-in-Chief to reserve a week for their use. Scheduling will be done on a first come, first served basis at the discretion of the Poly editorial board.

Layout: The club will have until Thursday at 5 pm to turn in a completed camera-ready centerspread for the following week's issue. If the club needs help with typesetting or layout of the centerspread, they may submit their materials by 5 pm on the Tuesday before the date of that issue, and work with The Poly's composing staff to complete the centerspread. The club may approve the final layout by appointment on the Sunday evening before the release of the issue.

Eligibility of Organizations: Union-recognized clubs and other groups are eligible to receive centerspreads at the editorial board's discretion. The Poly reserves the right to refuse any or all centerspreads.