Protest ‘Build Bridges, Not Fences’
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017 Volume CXXXVIII, No. 7 • poly.rpi.edu FEATURES Page 12SPORTS Page 4 EDITORIAL Page 8 Elena Composting has Perez many benefits Anahit Networking and Hovhannisyan competition at MS&T Sheer Idiocy puts on 20th Football wins against Staff Fence offensive, anniversary show Ithaca College Editorial encouraged protest ‘Build bridges, not fences’ Sidney Kochman/The Polytechnic Brookelyn Parslow The protest originated outside & Homecoming event guests; Before the protest, Director of Senior Reporter of the fences enclosing the south this also included the closing of Public Safety Jerry Matthews asked side of campus. It was initial- the tunnel connecting the Jons- reporters of The Poly to vacate the “WE DESERVE TRANSPARENCY,” ly scheduled to take place next son Engineering Center and the area inside the fence, saying that chanted students during a peaceful to the Experimental Media and Jonsson-Rowland Science Center. it was restricted to people with demonstration that began between Performing Arts Center, the loca- In an email to The Poly, Vice Presi- credentials from the Division of Amos Eaton Hall and Lally Hall at tion of the spring 2016 protest. dent of Administration Claude Institute Advancement. 4 pm on Friday, October 13, 2017. However, temporary barriers erect- Rounds stated that the tunnel At 4:30 pm, a portion of the fence Earlier that day, the Save the ed by the Institute and entry restric- “does not serve as a required was moved by demonstrators as they Union organization emailed an tions enforced by the Department fire exit for either [the] JEC or migrated onto the grass on the north invitation to the demonstration, or of Public Safety prevented demon- JRSC,” “the gate in the tunnel is side of the Voorhees Computing “lab safety class,” to the Rensselaer strators from reaching EMPAC. a security gate that can be closed Center. According to Dan Seel ’18, community. The intended message According to an email from and locked to restrict access and “there were zip ties on that section Serving the of the protest was that “the over- Strategic Communications and Ex- pedestrian traffic,” and that the of the fence, but they had vanished whelming majority of the RPI com- ternal Relations, these “event bound- “locking of the gate in the tunnel by the time the fence was moved.” Rensselaer munity wants the Rensselaer Union aries” were meant to “ensure safety” is not a fire exiting compliance community restored to a student-run entity.” for the hundreds of various Reunion issue.” See PROTEST, Page 2 since 1885 ADMINISTRATION RPI launches $1 billion campaign Inside David Raab campaign before it reached the fifty percent After Jackson spoke, a few members of the Board Senior Reporter milestone, but did not receive a comment. of Trustees shared how RPI has affected their own Comics . 11 The night’s events started with a cocktail lives and the ways through which they personally ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, PRESIDENT SHIRLEY hour in the science quad and moved into give back to the Institute. Campaign Co-Chairs Paul Editorial/Opinion . 8 Ann Jackson officially launched the public the Folsom Library for dinner. Though the Severino ’69 and Kathleen Severino gave a few Features . 6 portion of Rensselaer’s new capital campaign, event was sold out, many of the tables that remarks on how they have contributed to Rensselaer Sports . 4 Transformative: Campaign for Global Change, were set up on the second floor of Folsom through the endowment of the Severino Center for with an event held in the Experimental Media had empty chairs. A reception in EMPAC Technological Entrepreneurship. Jackson described and Performing Arts Center. followed dinner. him as a serial entrepreneur who has successfully During the keynote address, Jackson an- After a concert from the Rensselaer founded and operated several businesses in the nounced that the campaign’s goal is to raise Orchestra, Jackson gave a keynote speech. technology sector. Connect $1 billion over several years. The Institute She outlined many of RPI’s accomplishments After the Severinos spoke, Chairman of the has already raised over $400 million dol- from her 18-year tenure as president. Spe- Board of Trustees Arthur F. Golden ’66 deliv- Visit us online at: lars. Assistant Vice President for Student cifically, Jackson stated that for the last year’s ered his own brief set of remarks on how he has poly.rpi.edu Life and Dean of Students Travis Apgar admissions, the Institute had 20,000 freshman given back to his alma mater. Specifically, he Like us on Facebook: said in a Union Executive Board meeting on applications—a number that is “quadruple addressed the many changes that Jackson and facebook.com/thepolytechnic September 7 that institutions typically raise a what it was 20 years ago.” She then reiterated her staff have implemented at Rensselaer by Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: majority of the money in the “silent phase.” the three goals of the campaign: closing the saying that “transformation is the new baseline, @RPIPoly The Polytechnic reached out to Jackson financial aid gap, expanding the number of not the endgame—not by any means.” to determine when fundraising began and tenured and tenure-track faculty to 500 people, why the decision was made to announce the and modernizing the Troy campus. See CAPITAL, Page 2 2 • News Wednesday, October 18, 2017 poly.rpi.edu STUDENT SENATE Handbook tasked to SLC Capital: $400 Darby Burns Council to resolve and enact the amendments to Senior Reporter the Undergraduate Council Bylaws, which was million raised presented by Stefanie Warner ’19. The motion was From Page 1 ON OCTOBER 16, 2017, GRAND MARSHAL JUSTIN ETZINE to open the pool for candidates for vice president opened the Student Senate meeting by welcoming its and president of a class to the entirety of that class After Golden, Secretary of the Board of Trustees Curtis R. new members, asking them to introduce themselves after two separate meetings with inconclusive vot- Priem ’82 addressed the audience and said that “Rensselaer in- by sharing their majors, and reasons why they chose ing. The motion passed 18-0-1. vested in me years ago,” so he only saw it fit to give back once to join the Student Senate. Finally, Etzine opened a queue on the Student he had the means to do so. He was a member of the Rensselaer After a series of brief committee reports, Jennie Handbook changes. Recent alumnus Evan Barr ’17 Orchestra while he was a student. As an alumnus, he wanted to Miller ’19 moved to endorse the revisions to the expressed concern that one of the amendments did see the Institute have a greater focus on arts and electronic media. Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Respon- not include alumni in its definition of the Institute Priem also recognized Jackson’s donations to RPI specifically for sibilities. At the start of the queue Hannah Merrow community. He said that, “I believe that everyone who the purpose of expanding student scholarships. ’18 moved to charge that motion to Student Life has attended this institute has a powerful interest in the After Priem’s remarks, a video was shown on Rensselaer’s po- Committee Chairperson and to the GM with the full direction it takes, and protest is one of the few ways tential for transformation as it approaches the bicentennial of its authority to act. This means that it would be their re- that our voice can be heard.” Within the comments founding. It featured the testimony of members of the president’s sponsibility to meet with Assistant Vice President and section of the Facebook livestream, Alex Norman cabinet, dean’s council, and a few select students. Next, John E. Dean of Students Travis Apgar to decide if the changes ’18 stated his concerns regarding the limitations the Kelly III ’78, a member of the Board of Trustees and the senior should be endorsed, then report back to the Senate. changes place on freedom of speech. Apgar clarified vice president of IBM, recounted IBM’s history of contributing to Joshua Thomas ’20 raised the question of whether that the two main stages the administration wishes to Rensselaer that goes back to the 1960s. the revisions could go in effect with or without Sen- follow are to, “First, update the handbook as shared Jackson, her husband, and the Board of Trustees then cel- ate approval. Etzine responded that this would be just with the Senate.” and, “Second, work with Student ebrated the launch with champagne on stage. Many guests went an endorsement and changes could go in effect either Senate to explore additional updates.” outside to watch fireworks, which were launched from the hill way. The new motion passed unanimously. The Student Senate meets Mondays at 8 pm in the next to EMPAC above 8th Street. Another motion was made by the Undergraduate Shelnutt Gallery in the Rensselaer Union. Protest: Student concerns voiced, heard From Page 1 The crowd later transitioned to the grass surrounding the walkway near EMPAC, where they continued to chant, display signs to alumni, and take turns speaking through a megaphone. Chants included phrases such as, “build bridges, not fences,” and “our Union, our voice.” Concerns raised by speakers covered “RPI’s demotion to a tier-two research institution,” the “steady increase of undergraduate tuition,” the “drop in RPI’s credit rating,” and the “weakening of the Faculty Senate.” A boundary of police officers separated the protesters from alumni go- ing from the Cogswell Laboratory and the Folsom Library to the capital campaign launch event at EMPAC. The protest included both undergraduate and graduate students, along with alumni.