The RPI Poly
Introduction[edit]
"The Poly" is Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's official newspaper, short for "The Polytechnic". It is student run, and has produced versions of its newspaper since 2018. The Poly now uploads their articles on their website, www.poly.rpi.edu, which has been running since 1994. The Poly's original website https://poly.rpi.edu/old/, used to provide online content from 1994-2009, though the site is no longer in use. When one tries to follow this link, an error code appears, rendering it unusable.
How it Began[edit]
The newspaper was officially founded in 1869, but has been publishing consistently since 1885. The Poly has historically discussed men and women's hockey highlights, Grand Marshall Week, as well as parody issues. One should note that the parody issues no longer seem to be consistent or present today, as they have in the past.
When it was printed, there were thousands of papers distributed throughout the RPI campus, as well as to Downtown Troy, Russell Sage College, and the Rensselaer Tech Park.
A newspaper clipping from February 16, 1885, shows The Poly's very beginning, stating the need for "regular exposition" of events happening within the RPI community!
The Poly Today[edit]
Today, The Poly posts articles from various student authors related to RPI and local news. Their articles include topics on student government issues, interviews, events happening on campus, and opinion pieces. The club currently holds meetings on the third floor of the Rensselaer Union, at RU 3510/3511 on Sundays at 1PM. One can contact The Poly via email at poly@rpi.edu, or by calling 518-276-6770.
The Poly also have various emails for their different departments. To contact General Correspondence, contact editors@poly.rpi.edu; to contact Leads, contact leads@poly.rpi.edu; to contact News Section, contact news@poly.rpi.edu; to contact their editorial/opinion section, contact edop@poly.rpi.edu; to contact Features, contact features@poly.rpi.edu; for Sports, contact sports@poly.rpi.edu; for the Photo Department, contact photo@poly.rpi.edu; and lastly, contact the Business Department at business@poly.rpi.edu.
Their website additionally shows current student staff, their positions, personal bios, and a collection of their personal work. There is also a section where a user can view the same information of previous Poly staff. The current positions include various departments of editors, coordinators, and photographers.
If one wishes to view older, printed versions of The Poly, they can go to the Folsom Library and visit the Institute Archives & Special Collections section.
Sources[edit]
https://poly.rpi.edu/about/ https://poly.rpi.edu/archives/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rensselaer_Polytechnic https://www.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/Archives/timeline/polytechnic_1885.html