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News out of the Office of Undergraduate Education:
While having all students study abroad is still apparently a goal of the Institute, REACH an “initiative that ultimately will require all of its students to have an international experience as a requirement for graduation,” it seems that they have recently closed off some opportunities. Now students that go abroad on an unaffiliated program will NOT be able to transfer their earned credits back to RPI, according to the Study Abroad FAQ’s. Why would the school do this? Your guess is as good as mine. ($$$?) It’s ironic, as they just recently changed the name of REACH from “Rensselaer Engineering Across Cultural Horizons” to “Rensselaer Education Across Cultural Horizons.” I guess RPI just wants it to be their horizons.

News out of an awesome blog (All Over Albany):
Little Italy is hosting a stickball tournament on September 26th. For more details, click here. (We’ve heard these tournaments are pretty fun!)

News out of the Times Union:
No, Angelina Jolie isn’t back to baby snatching in the area, but Will Ferrell’s new movie will be in town soon. They’re casting for extras this Saturday at the Crowne Plaza. More info here.

News out of the trees:
Alby is definitely still alive.

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In light of recent events, we here at RPInsider have reason to believe that Alby (or some relative of his) is currently living near the Alumni House. This hard hitting news story submitted to us by Dan Falkenstrom has reignited interest on campus about Alby’s whereabouts. It is to this calling that we have created the Alby Tracker thread on the ACB. If you see Alby somewhere on or near campus, let us know! You can also submit a picture of him when you post (as long as you host the picture yourself.)

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Alby? Is that you?!

RPI Grad student Andrew Berkowitz snapped the attached photo on July 1st. It depicts the well known (but scarcely seen) Alby the Albino squirrel on a tree behind North Lot near the Alumni House. The RPI campus has gone without a sighting of the legendary mammal for nearly three years, and therefore this find is truly remarkable.

However, despite the excitement, two glaring questions remain: where was Alby, and why did he return? The popular consensus among the student body was that he had passed away. In fact, the meeting minutes dated October 24th 2006 of the 37th Student Senate state the following:

“Grand Marshal Perea now comments that the albino squirrel affectionately known as ‘Alby’ was run down by a car. One of the visitors has a picture, which was [sic] passed around the table for all the members to see. There is now a moment of silence for Alby the squirrel.”

Was that picture shown to the Student Senate a hoax? Or is this apparition a different Alby? Maybe, he was never completely dead – the origins of that photo were never revealed. There may have been an altercation between him and some students, who may have thought they rid the campus of that pesky squirrel forever. This could simply be his triumphant return, or he could be seeking vengeance for crimes committed in the past, which may have even been masterminded by Perea himself.

Regardless of the reason, the campus should be on high alert for this miniature Yetti, as more visual evidence is needed to confirm his return. We need to protect our old and dear friend, making certain that no more trouble will arise that may cause him to depart once more. And if he is on a quest for vengeance, well….I for one stand behind him, and will fight to the end until justice is served.

- Dan Falkenstrom

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