OVERTURNED

RNE OVERTURNS GM ELECTIONS - PEREA BECOMES GM.

[Decision 1]

[Decision 2]

One pixel left and Clarkson still---

After seeing an uninspiring commercial for Clarkson University, an effort was undertaken to find the clip on their website. While the ad, in which a student points to a lake and proudly proclaims "this is my classroom!" has yet to be found, a glance at their prospective student page revealed a webcam feed of the most accurate depiction of Clarkson available: a whole mess of pine trees.

Developing: RIAA Lawsuits Reportedly Target Non-Ruckus Schools

More lawsuits today from the RIAA, including some against RPI students. The list of targeted schools reportedly does not include those that had previously agreed to fork over tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to the subscription service Ruckus. An effort is underway to obtain the original court documents and the Ruckus subscription list to verify these reports. More details soon.

How Do You Get a Bad Professor Fired?

We've all had at least one them: the professor who looks at teaching as something that interferes with his research, the professor who's never seen the course material applied in the real world, and the professor who simply can't teach. Some of us have more extreme stories: the professor who would fall asleep during class, or the professor who missed a whopping 30% of lectures, or the professor who would actually yell at students for asking questions.

The point of all this: there are, at RPI, professors who should be investigated and potentially reprimanded, and the students don't know how to go about facilitating this. That has to change.

An avenue does exist for the removal of these professors. Today, I ask: what is the formal process for initiating an investigation into whether the removal of a professor is warranted? Seeing as we're paying $31,000 for a service, isn't it only fair that we be told how to make the most of it? Shouldn't students have a recourse in the face of people who may very well decide their futures with the stroke of a grading pen? Tell us what you know.

No correlation here, folks.

Dr. Jackson is being named by sources as the reason a millionaire "friend of the Institute" has removed RPI, previously the primary beneficiary, from his will. More details as they become available.

Dr. Jackson's misguided plan to turn Proctor's into that hotel we so desperately needed has finally fallen to pieces. Literally.

Dr. Jackson lied about providing a substantial increase in financial aid for upperclassman. The upperclassman are the poor souls who have seen tuition increase close to 25% since they accepted admission, according to...everyone who's seen their financial aid package and the lack of a 7% increase in aid, though it had been previously anticipated.

On an entirely unrelated subject, there's an interesting legend set in the 1990s about the students of RPI banding together and playing an instrumental role in removing the president of the Institute. Given the readership's appreciation for tales with such happy endings, anyone with more knowledge of the account is asked to email tipbernstein@yahoo.com and share what they know...and if they're interested in making a 21st century revision.

The "R" is for Rensselaer, not Realtor

Last April, the RPI administration announced their purchase of Proctor's Theater in downtown Troy, citing "the need for additional specialty hotel facilities in the region."

Now, as the Troy city government looks to renovate the site and turn it into the new city hall, the Troy Record coverage makes mention of the fact that numerous consultants have told RPI the site could not be used as a hotel. Says Troy mayor Harry Tutunjian in the Record:

"After a year, they've been unable to find a developer to make it into a hotel that is sustainable and financially worthwhile."

The city is now preparing to save Dr. Jackson and the other Donald Trump wannabes of the High Command by taking the property off their hands. Personally, I'd like to see Mayor Tutunjian walk into the negotiations and lay a dollar bill on the table as his opening bid, seeing as there's not exactly a mob on 4th street of developers fighting to get their hands on the property.

One final consideration: Proctor's has a 3,200 seat auditorium, which has been one of the selling points of the eMPA Center (current pricetag now exceeding $140 million). Just think, with a little more adequate planning, we could have had the same thing just a bit further down the hill for a fraction of the cost.

This may be a good time to start reconsidering The Rensselaer Plan--particularly the part that has Rensselaer executing it.

Submit the appropriate thought bubbles to tipbernstein@yahoo.com