Talk:Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/Archive 2

Dorky Aspects
Don't you guys think we're missing some of the more.....dorky aspects of RPI? Like what's said at hockey games, or our traditions etc. A lot of the student body history is missing too! No mention GM week I think!!! No mention of antics! I mean, from this page, you get the idea that this place is pretty boring....oh wait. --BAP

It might be interesting to talk a bit more about that part of life at RPI, but does that really belong on Wikipedia or elsewhere? --djopie 06:02, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, well, it might be nice to expand the history a little, and maybe clubs and activities, as long as there are no plugs for specific clubs or anything too trivial. Also, List of RPI Grand Marshals, which is on the template, needs context. If someone wanted to explain GM week there, that would be great. Danski14 22:12, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

RPI invented the word "nerd". It was originally "Knurd", then shortened to "nurd". In the forties, it was possible to get a "Gentlemen's C" - a grade awarded by just showing up. Many getting the C were drunks. The opposite - sober, studious ones - were "drunk" spelled backwards, or "knurds". Modorney 05:34, 9 July 2007 (UTC)


 * This is true... it is mentioned on the nerd page, and apparently there are a few other speculative etymologies. But where would we mention such a thing? Danski14(talk) 00:04, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

Don't forget about the 'Tute Screw (no matter which way it's turned, it goes in) and the mysterious vector outlines that usually appear close to GM week. 01:12, 13 January 2014 (UTC) (Anonymous member of the class of 1987). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:470:D:468:4D38:4D80:C9B0:7B3C (talk)

Rensselaer vs. RPI
What's going on with the naming in the article? The school's name (whether or not Shirley Ann Jackson likes it) is RPI. The administration has been calling it "Rensselaer". We have a random mix of both here, albiet with more "Rensselaer"s in the sections that sound like PR pieces. Would anyone mind if the name was standardized across the article as RPI or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute? --Alynna 00:22, 3 December 2006 (UTC) (Yes I'm an RPI student)

Yes, I was also wondering about the name. Problem is, the administration insists on using Rensselaer as the official name, but fact is, RPI is the real name used by everyone else. I like 'RPI' better because it follows in the tradition of other schools like MIT, RIT, and WPI, making it easily associable. Plus it's much easier to spell! So I for one would have no problem with standardizing the aritcle to RPI. Additionally, it would be nice to make "RPI" link directly here, but we should probably keep the disambiguation page, right? danski14

If the school uses “Rensselaer” as the short form of the school's name rather than “RPI”, shouldn't the article use that (outside of the introduction, which should obviously mention “RPI”)? In other words, if the school changed its name to Rensselaer House of Pies, this page would get renamed and changed to reflect that, why should the short form be any different? (Perhaps Wikipedia talk:Schools has some insight?) —Ben FrantzDale 18:04, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

The official name of the school is still Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (abbreviated RPI). While the administration most commonly uses "Rensselaer" in communication, the student body generally uses "RPI" or the full name. --Beezhive 20:59, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, I honestly don't if one is really better than any of the others, but if anything perhaps it is good to expose the reader to both usages. However, if we were going to standardize it, I would lean towards RPI as opposed to "Rensselaer", as I have never heard "Rensselaer" used colloquially. So, if anyone wants to change the "Rensselaers" to RPIs, I don't have any problem. Also, about the redirect for RPI I mentioned, does anyone think it's a good idea? I noticed MIT and RIT link directly to their pages. The only thing is that a Google test shows that "Ratings Percentage index" has high usage. delton 22:54, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree on using "RPI" as opposed to "Rensselaer". For what it's worth, most people I've met (excluding faculty or students) seem to refer to the school as RPI. As for the redirect of RPI to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I'm not sure it's a good idea. Just because 2 other schools do redirect, it doesn't mean that RPI should. MIT is much better known than RPI, and is therefore probably not comparable. RIT is probably comparable, but I'm not sure about how "Rapid Intervention Team" vs "Rochester Institute of Technology" compares to ""Ratings Percentage Index" vs "Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute" in terms of common usage. The safe thing would probably be to leave it as is. --Beezhive 23:25, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Agree, we won't change the disambiguation page. delton 02:05, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Ok, well, an anon ip just changed all the Rensselaers to RPI's. I guess that is fine, but we probably shouldn't be too dogmatic about it. I reverted back names like "Rensselaer Technology park". By the way, I think I've seen the school referred to as "Rensselaer" in some news sources, (probably handed to those sources from the administration). Danski14 16:55, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

In 1991 or 1992, a lawyer from New Jersey mentioned to a lawyer in Albany that his son where he son was considering attending, and was told that if he called it "Rensselaer", everyone would now that he was not from the Capital District (Albany, Troy, etc.), because everyone local called it "RPI". Therefore, I know that RPI has been the common name for at least that long... In the mid-1990's, R. Byron Pipes, then President of the place, decided that "Rensselaer" was the "more beautiful" part of the name and tried to mandate its use on all school documents, to the exclusion of RPI. Two difficulties posed by this policy were that rpi.edu had already been established as the domain name (in those days, getting a new domain was much less common than now, so rpi.edu was retained) and that not all the students knew how to spell "Rensselaer". Not sure how that last part (about students not knowing how to spell) is relevant. I just think it is an interesting story.66.10.94.35 19:40, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Note that the alumni magazine is called Rensselaer. However, I agree that when local to the NY Capital District (or even possibly the entire northeast U.S.) that the school is called RPI. However, in other parts of the U.S., when one says "RPI," other people generally reply "huh?" 01:01, 13 January 2014 (UTC) (Anonymous member of the class of 1987)

SAT = 1337?
I really doubt the Average SAT combined is 1337. I really doubt that the average is leet. Someone please fact check. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.226.107.41 (talk) 03:21, 11 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Ha, yeah that was pointed out by one of my friends recently. Go ahead you can check the reference I'm sure you can find these statistics elsewhere as well. (although the university hasn't updated some of the pages on their website for some reason) Danski14(talk) 05:31, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

Sounds correct: Back when the SAT maximum was 1600, that generally meant an 780 math and 520 verbal or thereabouts. 01:07, 13 January 2014 (UTC) (Anonymous alumni from the 1980's) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:470:D:468:4D38:4D80:C9B0:7B3C (talk)

Is he Stephen van Rensselaer or Stephen van Rensselaer III?
The Wiki article only shows Stephen van Rensselaer, but all pages point to Stephen van Rensselaer III. Is there a reason why `III' is dropped? Snowfalcon cu (talk) 14:29, 16 February 2014 (UTC)

Modern campus, since 1961
I think the article really does RPI a disservice by not breaking the development of the modern campus into more phases. It would make sense to have a period from 1961 to 1973, simply because the buildings constructed in that time constitute major pieces of the core campus.

The JEC and the CII are significant unto themselves because of how many major departments are housed in them.

The development of the East Campus Athletic Village and the multiple renovations of Houston Field House deserve separate attention, because of how profoundly they have changed the non-student use of the RPI campus.

There's also not enough discussion of EMPAC, considering how much it gets used by RPI to showcase what's happening on campus to the general public. DaveAiello (talk) 17:22, 15 October 2014 (UTC)