It has been my belief, since coming to RPI, that the idea of good things coming to those who wait promotes the wrong attitude. Good things might eventually come to everyone, but they must first be developed. Sure, we can all enjoy things like computer chips or internal combustion, but those were things that had to be developed first, and that development takes time, patience, and—sometimes—ruthless, unforgiving managerial styles. On a related note, I’m pleased to tell you all that many good things are coming to fruition thanks to dedicated RPI students working tirelessly to not only develop these things, but actually make them happen.
Thanks to a system called Digital Signage, paper posters are on the road to being relics of the past and RPI will have yet another reason to look cooler than MIT (that is, in addition to having a better hockey team and a closer proximity to Montreal). Clubs will be able to spend more time doing club stuff, rather than learning the art of holding eight pieces of masking tape in sub-zero temperatures (been there, done that!). For many, it will represent a convenience and an improvement in the campus aesthetics. But for a potential student, the image of posters having been replaced by large LCDs will give them yet another reason to view RPI as being a step above the rest of the pack—or at least, a more innovative than the pack.
The Student Sustainability Task Force is doing amazing work, uncharacteristic of the term “task force” (which is seldom little more than a mission statement with an expiration date). Thanks to the efforts and determination of these students, RPI is using less energy and generating less waste. The result is cost savings, which I hope will be passed on to students. These students on the task force wanted to cut down the impact that RPI has on the environment and they are doing it.
I spoke about myRPI in a previous “Top Hat” and you may have actually checked out the site after reading it—in any event, it hasn’t officially been debuted, but will be very soon. myRPI is presently a prototype awaiting some testing and upgrades in aesthetics, but the nuts and bolts are in place. The general idea is to give you a way to make your time here better. If you’re having a problem—any kind of problem—there will be a button for you to click. Simple? I hope so—that was my initial vision. But this wasn’t something we downloaded off of BitTorrent or stole from another university. It was the result of hours of coding, graphic design, and development; but most significantly, it had to be “thought up.” The idea of a student portal where we could begin to fix problems at RPI from within wasn’t exactly being kicked around on the side or sitting on the back burner. It was an idea that developed from a need and a desire to improve the current system.
I mention this because there are plenty of other good ideas floating around our campus, and there are 10 times as many ideas waiting to have someone take the time to develop them. While flying shuttles, perpetually charged laptop batteries and a machine that can instantly balance the ratio in any social setting remain a bit too far off to mention, I am always in the market for cool ideas on how to make life better here at RPI.
Heck, you don’t even have to be a member of the Class of 2008, 2009, 2010, or 2011 to get involved with these projects. The Rensselaer Alumni Association (RAA—there’s another RPI acronym for you!) just held its Winter Board Weekend, whereby the members of the RAA Board of Trustees met to conduct business. I owe them many thanks, as I was positively thrilled to hear that one of the recurring topics discussed over the course of the weekend involved reaching out to current RPI students, and the best way to do this. It got me thinking. One day, probably sooner than we’d like, we’ll become RPI graduates and by then, it will become easy and convenient to forget about this place. It would be amazing if we felt the same way about making a difference at RPI as the RAA does—not just 10 years down the road, but now, also. If you’re shocked I would suggest such a preposterous idea, then I challenge you to boost your involvement on campus—both developing and helping ideas come to fruition, and checking out what RPI has to offer—you’ll catch RPItis soon enough, and I hope it sticks with you for a long, long time.
As always, I’m here to answer your questions, listen to your ideas, and hear your concerns: gm@rpi.edu. Where should the RAA and RPI alumni be more involved?
