page_title: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
section_title: Student Life
hierarchical_section_title: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute / Student Life
caption_attribution_description: English: Student Union on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, United States
context_page_description: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private research university in Troy, New York, with additional campuses in Hartford and Groton, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 by Stephen van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton for the "application of science to the common purposes of life" and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. Numerous American colleges or departments of applied sciences were modeled after Rensselaer.
  Built on a hillside, RPI's 265-acre campus overlooks the city of Troy and the Hudson River, and is a blend of traditional and modern architecture. The institute operates an on‑campus business incubator and the 1,250-acre Rensselaer Technology Park.
  RPI is organized into six main schools which contain 37 departments, with emphasis on science and technology. It is well recognized for its degree programs in engineering, computing, business and management, information technology, the sciences, design, and liberal arts.
context_section_description: The students of RPI have created and participate in a variety of clubs and organizations funded by the Student Union. About 170 of these organizations are funded by the Student Union, while another thirty, which consist mostly of political and religious organizations, are self-supporting. In 2006 the Princeton Review ranked RPI second for "more to do on campus." The Union was the last entirely student-run union at a private university in the United States until September 2017.
  Phalanx is RPI's Senior Honor Society. It was founded in 1912, when Edward Dion and the Student Council organized a society to recognize those RPI students who had distinguished themselves among their peers in the areas of leadership, service and devotion to the alma mater. It is a fellowship of the most active in student activities and has inducted more than 1,500 members since its founding.
  RPI has around twenty intramural sports organizations, many of which are broken down into different divisions based on level of play. Greek organizations compete in them as well as independent athletes. There are also thirty-nine club sports.
  Given the university's proximity to the Berkshires, Green Mountains and Adirondacks, the Ski Club and the Outing Club are some of the largest groups on campus. The Ski Club offers weekly trips to local ski areas during the winter months, while the Outing Club offers trips on a weekly basis for a variety of activities.
  The Rensselaer Polytechnic is the student-run weekly newspaper. The Poly printed about 7,000 copies each week and distributed them around campus until 2018 when the newspaper switched to online-only distribution due to budget concerns. Although it is the Union club with the largest budget, The Poly receives no subsidy from the Union, and obtains all funding through the sale of advertisements. There is also a popular student-run magazine called Statler & Waldorf which prints on a semesterly basis.
  RPI has an improvisational comedy group, Sheer Idiocy, which performs several shows a semester. There are also several music groups ranging from a cappella groups such as the Rusty Pipes, Partial Credit, the Rensselyrics and Duly Noted, to several instrumental groups such as the Orchestra, the Jazz Band and a classical choral group, the Rensselaer Concert Choir.
  Another notable organization on campus is WRPI, the campus radio station. WRPI differs from most college radio in that it serves a 75-mile (121 km) radius including the greater Albany area. With 10 kW of broadcasting power, WRPI maintains a stronger signal than nearly all college radio stations and some commercial stations. WRPI currently broadcasts on 91.5 FM in the Albany area.
  The RPI Players is an on‑campus theater group that was formed in 1929. The Players resided in the Old Gym until 1965 when they moved to their present location at the 15th Street Lounge. This distinctive red shingled building had been a USO hall for the U.S. Army before being purchased by RPI. The Players have staged over 275 productions in its history.
caption: Student Union
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