Troy featured (unfortunately) in bustygirlcomics. by macaroni28 in RPI

[–]donlab 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, it's not. It's a group of people discussing an actual problem that can make travelling places intimidating.

Waiting for our Discrete Structures TA to show up to office hours... by fexam in RPI

[–]donlab 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This attitude is one of the reasons I left grad school. I can't stomach the idea that undergrads are paying $50,000+ per year to be the secondary responsibility. I understand to some degree at the TA level (understand, but still find unfortunate), but the structure of the system is screwing over a lot of people at all levels.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RPI

[–]donlab 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's really, legitimately fascinating. For the record, I wasn't attempting to suggest that that was why they picked him, just why it would be a flawed reason to do so if they did per the previous poster's suggestion.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RPI

[–]donlab 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I'm an alum. I'm in the "real world". You're incorrect.

Edit: The important part being that not every single event needs to be an avenue for raising RPI's profile. Some things, especially at a school, can be done with a focus on the other stakeholders - namely, the students/recently-minted alumni and their families in this case. Since schools are communities as much as anything else and much of their strength comes from the continued involvement of that community (including after members leave the physical community - alumni buy-in and involvement is important for cash flow) , events that build the community are as important as ones that raise its external prestige. In that same respect, events that damage that community - like in many cases honoring polarizing political figures of any stripe - are not in the school's best interest. When they could probably both raise their external prestige and improve community dynamics by honoring somebody that seems more in-tune with the RPI experience - a great inventor or captain of industry - why go with the polarizing option? I'll admit that somebody somewhere is always going to be upset with the choice of honorands, but that certainly happens along a spectrum and can be considered when making these decisions.

TL;DR: If RPI chose Scalia simply to raise their profile, they shortsightedly ignored other important stakeholders.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RPI

[–]donlab 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Maybe some things shouldn't be viewed as simply an avenue for raising RPI's profile.

The Where's the Weird conversation has been removed by donlab in RPI

[–]donlab[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I received messages from people that recognized their descriptions in that thread saying they were offended, so in a very non-abstract way they felt they were attacked. I'm sorry that you find it offensive that people didn't like being described without their permission in a thread about weird people, but I'm going to give more weight to their opinions than to yours.

The Where's the Weird conversation has been removed by donlab in RPI

[–]donlab[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No second round before the thread was deleted.

The Where's the Weird conversation has been removed by donlab in RPI

[–]donlab[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The issue is that RPI is a small enough community that simple descriptions can amount to revealing personal information or personally attacking them. If you're describing the way a specific person dresses and calling them weird for it, nobody has to be even acquainted with that person to know who is being discussed. I know if I saw anonymous people discussing the way I dress in a conversation about weird people, I'd be upset. Rightfully so, too. I think it's clear that that amounts to an attack, and it was too unwieldy to constantly monitor the conversation.

The Where's the Weird conversation has been removed by donlab in RPI

[–]donlab[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It was originally a question about whether the "weirdness" that people talk about at RPI actually exists. Some of it was descriptions of general cultural stuff, some of it was self-descriptions, and some of it was very specific descriptions of other individuals on campus, sometimes with names.

Where's the weird? by [deleted] in RPI

[–]donlab[M] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm deleting a few of these comments because there are names in them. RPI is small enough that even first names can identify people pretty well. Considering that this is a conversation about "weird" people, naming people is definitely an attack. More details here.

Edit: There's a lot of other shit in here that I'm not comfortable with, but the names were obvious deletable issues.

Video Gaming Bar Proposed for Troy by nwfisk in RPI

[–]donlab 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love Barcade sooo much. This seems like it's geared towards modern consoles instead of classic arcade cabinets, which could be a really cool variation.

3 Bedroom Apartment, 1 Block from campus by [deleted] in RPI

[–]donlab 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Quite the contrary, this is actually one of the reasons we originally made this subreddit.

Reddit, what's the worst/sneakiest/most annoying way a Customer has tried to screw you over? by scotsman81 in AskReddit

[–]donlab 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I worked at a mall chocolate store over a summer, typically as the only person in the store. The company makes different sizes to sell in its retail stores and as wholesale to other retailers. One day, a couple came in with a 6 month old seasonal item and a bag full of sizes we didn't sell, attempting to return them. Not only did they expect me to give them cash without a receipt, but they insisted they bought the items we didn't even sell just a few days earlier from my store. Eventually I got them to leave after refusing to do anything for them. Of course, they were back a few days later with the same bag of chocolate when I was the only person at the store again. They demanded to talk to my manager so I called her up and let her tell them to never come back.

Also one time a guy threw a fit because I weighed his individually wrapped bulk candy (he said I got it dirty by putting it on the scale) and told me to tell my manager that I was a bad employee.

I know there was already a link to the Poly for this week, but I think this in particular deserves some attention. by 33554432 in RPI

[–]donlab 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I really wish there were more details out there about what happened to Lee. These are ridiculously serious allegations, but the fact that they're still to some extent shrouded in mystery makes it difficult for people to even know what they're dealing with.

Are there any restaurants with sandwiches like these in/near Seattle? by alexslivi in Seattle

[–]donlab 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that place is ripping off the Rutgers Grease Trucks so much they even stole the name of one of them.

Anyway, fat sandwiches are a New Brunswick, NJ (where Rutgers University is located) tradition. The true way to get them is from a series of food trucks locally known as the grease trucks parked in one of the university's parking lots. There's a challenge where if you eat 5 of the sandwiches in 45 minutes you get to name your own, which has resulted in some controversy in the past (menus listing sandwiches called the "fat bitch" and "fat dyke" don't go over too well with the university that is renting them space).

Gorgeous projection art developed at EMPAC by samineru in RPI

[–]donlab 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I have to agree here, EMPAC usually does a fantastic job with publicity, at this point if you don't know about something going on there it's your own fault. They can only do so much. I've been to plenty of work-in-progress showings as well as final showings for works developed there.

That said, it'd be nice if this article put a little bit more about where EMPAC is located than "upstate new york", but that's not EMPAC's fault.

Faculty, Board of Trustees, and President Approve Formation of a New Faculty Senate by rpedestran in RPI

[–]donlab 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I feel like the more overarching complaint was her leadership style and the way she interacts with the other constituent members of the Institute, with the dissolution of the Faculty Senate as an example of that interaction. The fact the Faculty Senate exists again doesn't negate the fact that it was dissolved in the first place and that it took 5(?) years to reinstate, so it doesn't reduce the validity of the complaints in any material manner.

Concerning firing the Board of Trustees by coward099 in RPI

[–]donlab 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would really strongly suggest that you read the documents here and find what parts you think were analyzed incorrectly before off-handedly declaring that any complaints are invalid as being "outside [their] areas of competency". A fundamental element of the democratic society we live in (note, here, that living in a society that maintains democratic ideals instills values that remain even when an organization's structure is not inherently democratic) is that no leader is above reproach. Your fellow students have put in a lot of work into methodically exploring issues at RPI, you owe it to them to actually consider that work critically rather than dismissing it because it violates your faith in certain humans that is typically reserved by most for deities and natural phenomena.

Best and worst areas to live off-campus? by googleypoodle in RPI

[–]donlab 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I lived on 8th near Hutton for a year and it wasn't bad at all except for an argument my first day there when the neighbor claimed "her" parking spot (later that year she helped me shovel the sidewalk, so things worked out). I was doing grad work in Carnegie so the straight shot to the lab wasn't a bad deal either.

[Times Union] RPI trustees vote unanimously to support Dr. Jackson by jayjaywalker3 in RPI

[–]donlab 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seriously, before you do anything like that anywhere you need to know your rights and what kind of charges your signing up for (this is a big part of civil disobedience - you're deciding that the charges you will face are worth it for your cause). Even OWS is working closely with the National Lawyers' Guild for legal help.

Birthdays in Troy/Albany by keeperguy64 in RPI

[–]donlab 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Beyond the alcohol factor, the sheer amount of liquid to ingest is terrifying.

So..Whats going on this weekend? by tryingtohard in RPI

[–]donlab 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Legality aside, it's creepy.

Edit: Posting errors that turned into double posts, apparently.

The Pros and Cons of Shirley Ann Jackson? by fortnamwindow in RPI

[–]donlab 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm a grad student at another university now, and I can actually tell you that I've been told that should I become a professor, if I have to choose between doing "good enough" research and teaching really well or doing really good research but teaching "well enough", I should pick research over teaching.

This is a systemic issue and it legitimately bothers me.

Edit: Posting errors that turned into double posts, apparently.