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Next Stop? Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR! NRB! WoOoOoOoO!!!!!11!!1!

NRB began yesterday. The freshmen class showed up to participate in a week of BBQ’s behind Commons, awkward dances in the Union, clubs showcasing themselves and their activities, a walk downtown for Welcomefest ‘09, and a version of the Olympics. It’s a time when the one thing people have in common is feeling out of place. NRB is designed to help you (the freshman) find commonalities, even if searching for commonalities is all that you have in common. (Make sense?) Take advantage of people being open and friendly because faster than you can say “Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond,” people find their group and become cliquey.

You might be surprised though. It isn’t rare to be very close with friends you made during NRB down the line, or for the clubs to whom you give some time this week to allow you to take a leadership position in the future. This orientation of the RPI community and campus is what you make of it. RPI has a lot to offer. You just have to go find it. Our job? Trying to make that task easier.

Welcome, Class of 2013.

Oh, and if you’re interested in helping us and the community out by doing some light-hearted journalism, our contact info is available here

Share Uncategorized FYE, NRB, Troy

I came across this new blog published by the Office of the First Year Experience.  Looks like it’s for incoming freshmen to read, and it’s interesting to look at.  We’re happy to see that RPI is getting more interested in blogs, as we have called for Dr. Jackson to start using a blog to communicate with students.  This is a start!

They claim they’re “exploring what it’s like to be a student at Rensselaer.”  I’m not sure if anyone can get the real student experience on a website with the rpi.edu URL, but I’m willing to give them a shot.

We think we still have it covered in terms of uncensored, real student facts at RPI (as opposed to Rensselaer), so we’re not too worried about the competition.  

Share Uncategorized blog, FYE, NRB, propaganda

So, you probably got that extremely long email about the CLASS initiative if you have an RPI email (if not, it’s below!).  But, you also probably didn’t read it or didn’t want to.  There isn’t very much new in the email, but I thought it would be nice to give you the highlights, so here you go:

• CLASS = Clustered Learning Advocacy and Support for Students, and it starts this fall.
• Tom Tarantelli of the CDC is now acting Assistant VP for Student Life and Janette Fayelle is the Acting Dean for FYE
• CLASS is based on residential clusters with all types of students and some faculty living with the students
• In the Fall of 2010, all sophomores will be required to live on campus or in greek life, so that they feel like they “belong.”
• The new Blitman Commons Residence Hall opened downtown.  They didn’t mention that it is being used for conferences this summer.
• More “Student Life Signature Events” to come at EMPAC such as Bela Fleck.

Pretty simple really!  Nothing new in this email, but at least they’re trying to make sure everyone does have access to what little information there is available.

Read more…

Share Uncategorized CLASS, Dr. Knowles, FYE